One of his Own Kind
by amakasu toko
Summary: Soujiro and his new friend meet the kenshin gumi and chaos ensues! and for some serious business, saitous come to track soujiro down! what will happen now? PS: Ch. 4 FOUND story continued :)
1. The Meeting

Hiyee pplz!!! Toko-chan here!!! I waz reading some of the soujiro fan ficcies…(wai! Sou-chan!! *giggles* ) anyway…most of the fanficcies I read were either about sou-chan + the author of the fanfic or sou chan having adventures just like kenshin…even acting like kenshin……well this time…im going to make a fanficcie which is pretty different from the others….and so far ive never seen a fanficcie like this yet…..so WOO HOO!! First person to get this idea!! I dink….if im not….well..it seemed like it….^_^0  
  
Ok…summary:   
Soujiro became a rurouni and he is wandering around the world for lets say…1 year? He then comes across a village and he encounters a girl much like himself…..  
  
IMPORTANT note: during the kyoto thing, soujiro was 17. I know most think he is 18 or older but he was born in September 1861 and he killed Okuba (or Okuba...however you spell his name.....) in May 1878. So do the math, 1878 – 1861 = 17 (actually...i stil cant believe hes 17...always thought he was 18....so if any of you find proof that soujiro is really 18 or another age..PLZ tell me...im still dying to find out.......^_^0)  
Soujiro is 18 in my fic…k?  
  
And another thing…I know Soujiro + made up characters tend to be strange…but I really liked the idea and so im not expecting reviews….but still…reviewing WOULD be nice….^_^0 *everyone else falls to the floor, twitching*  
  
Btw..no flames…plz? *puppy eyes*   
*readers roll eyes*  
Me: it was worth a try neh?  
Readers: -_-0  
  
  
The characters:  
  
Soujiro: we all know how this kawaii just-made-rurouni looks like neh?   
But you also have to know how he looks like in his red gi….(yes he has a red gi…seriously!!)  
  
Hayami Toko (no this isnt me I jus like the name!! So …bouncy…. Toko toko toko toko toko… *gets bonked on head by readers* Oro….@_@) (btw...i was going to name her Hikari...but i think a lot of people use that name in their ficcies....) – shes 16  
Long black hair, dark brown eyes, wheres this kind of dark blue dress where it has slits on both sides all the way up to the hip, but she wears black shorts underneath, so it looks realli kewl…I saw it on this anime thing once…I fergot where…but anyway…its "something like the dress here…just not as…er…showy…  
http://enweb.ragnarokonline.com/dat/sht_magic_f.jpg  
if you recognize it…it must be because you play RO too!! Ro is so fun!!! Wai wai…(btw..i DON'T own ro either…)  
Her top is kind of like Misao's except the sleeves are a lot shorter (almost a tanktop but not quite…and the neckline collar thing is really wide…no not in height wise…I mean like…the neckline is so wide, it sometimes falls off her shoulder…but NOTHING shows (*grumbles* evil hentais….)…jus her shoulder..its gonna take a funny role later on….^_-~*  
Btw…her shirt is dark blue with white trimmings and theres a white ribbon on herleft shoulder on the white trimming…too confusing? Well…it doesn't matter THAT much I guess…  
  
Weapons: her weapons are on a belt that is on her hip. She has a dagger, a straights sword (a sword that's straight and can cut on both sides, unlike the curved japanese swords)  
She also has these spiky discs…(a bit smaller then a shuriken, much thinner, and more jagged edges) yes this is all very confusing..if you don't get it…use your imagination….  
  
" " talking  
* thinking  
Italics (im not sure if my italics or bold work so jus incase it doesn't work…) / ~ ~ dreams  
  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Soujiro…wah!!!!! I don't own RK either…..WAH!!!!!  
  
  
  
  
  
The Meeting  
  
  
  
Seta Soujiro wandered into the forest.  
*Being a rurouni is much harder than it seems…* The boy thought as walked absentmindly, *when I was with Shishio-san, I was provided with money, food, and the free will to kill, but now, I am struck down by rules, I am almost broke, and starving*  
  
Suddenly, Soujiro heard the sound of rustling, blades being drawn out. He whipped his head toward the sound and ran off to see what was going on.  
  
Hayami Toko was running, running for her life.  
"Chukuso!! Oi, you better stop running, or else we'll kill you slowly and painfully instead of the quick death we promised!!" Four men ran after her.  
Toko stopped and turned.  
*I have had enough of this, I have to face them!*  
She took the straight sword out of its sheath. With a smile on her face, she yelled  
"What are you waiting for? Come and get me!!"  
She rushed towards them to attack.   
Still smiling, she closed her eyes for an instant and thought   
*Goodbye, world*  
  
Soujiro ran through the bushes and trees.He paused as he saw a girl, about two inches shorter than he was (A/N: hes 5 feet 4 inches / 162 cm) rush at a group of tall men (the shortest one was 5 feet 10 inches).  
Although she seemed to lack in strength, her speed was a pretty fast and her petite figure and flexibility allowed her to dodge most of her opponents attacks.  
  
Toko managed to swipe one of the men's arms. It left a cut, but it was minor and spilled little blood.  
*Damn my strength*She thought desperately.  
She tripped one of the men, names Shiku, and kicked him with her foot. He was knocked unconsious.  
  
Soujiro watched the girl knock down the man.   
*Good leg strength* He mused, *but her arm strength is very weak….*  
  
She then faced another man, named Teruno.   
"You beat Shiku, but you cant beat me!" He yelled egotistically and he lounged for Toko.  
Toko rolled her eyes, Teruno was the weakest, the youngest, (still older than her), and the most arrogant of the four men. As Teruno rushed at Toko, she moved aside and tripped him with her legs. Another swift kick and Teruno was down.  
"Baka" She muttered.  
  
Another man came forward and challenged her. His name was Hajita.  
"You will grovel in pain before me after I'm through with you" He said.  
She was still smiling, but she put up an even bigger grin as she said   
"We'll see"  
Once again, the clanging of swords rang in the air.  
Hajita's blade cut her in the arm as she tried to dodge.  
*Kuso, he got me.* she thought as she gave him another big grin, fueling his rage.  
"after all these years, you still smile. But your face will be in a frown when I drive my sword through your body" Hajita yelled.  
When the two swords clashed together again, Toko did the one thing men would dishonor themselves doing. But she wasn't a man, so who cares?  
She kicked him in the family jewels.  
He groaned and went down.  
"What a cheap move" He gasped.  
"It's not a cheap move, its something every girl is skilled at" She smiled at him before knocking his daylights out with another kick.  
  
Finally, she faced the last man.  
He was the biggest, tallest, (6feet 2 inches) and oldest of them all.  
He unsheath his blade.  
"Finally, I may get rid of you with my own hands." He said as he ran towards Toko.  
Toko blocked with her sword.  
  
Soujiro looked at the big man and Toko. He could tell Toko was to weak to block the attack. His eyes widened, but not because Toko was pushed back. His eyes didn't widen because Toko crashed into a tree with such force that the tree snapped in two. His eyes widened because he saw, that till the very end, Toko was smiling. He saw the desperation and fear in her eyes as she faced the big man, but not once did she frown. (Well, not until she slumped unconsious due to the force when she slammed into the tree)  
*Should I help?* Soujiro thought. Then he remembered. Kenshin had always protected the weak, so maybe Soujiro should follow his example, and by doing that, he would become stronger.  
  
The big man looked at Toko with victory in his eyes.  
He walked towards her, blade ready to make the finishing blow, until…  
A blur of blue. Soujiro stood in front of the girl, he was in his attack stance.  
"Konnichiwa! Im sorry but I cant let you kill the girl" He said with a smile and a carefree tone.  
The man groaned.  
"Not another one. Don't you people ever do anything besides smile?!"  
Soujiro just looked at him and grinned.  
The man grew mad.  
"I'll just have to kill you off too then!"  
But before the man even took a step, Soujiro used his amazing speed (Shukuchi) and jumped over the man, slashing his throat in the process, and killing him.  
  
Soujiro turned around and looked at the girl. The other three men had already woken up and ran away, probably shaken because their "boss" had been killed. He couldn't leave the girl like this. He sighed.   
*How does Kenshin handle these things with so much eagerness?!?!*  
  
  
  
He scooped the girl up and went into the nearest village. Surprised at how light she was, he looked at her. She was too skinny.   
*Just like I was before I met Shishio-san* Soujiro thought as he remembered his "family".  
  
Toko woke up. She stared at the wooden ceiling.   
*Ceiling?!?! Wait…something's blocking her view….a face?*  
Soujiro looked at the girl and he pasted a smile on his face.  
"So you're finally awake."  
*Who is this person?* Toko thought.  
"Yup! " She said with a laugh "Ano…how long was I out?"  
"Two days!!" The young man said.  
"Eh…what about the men who were after me?" Toko asked.  
"Well, three ran away but the last one is dead."   
"Dead? How did he die? Did you…" Toko asked as the man nodded his head.  
"Arigatou" Toko said as she dipped her head to make a little bow.  
  
That was when the piercing pain shot through her.  
"Itai…..(ow)" She murmered with a smile.  
"You're still very weak and sore. Stay in bed for a few more days." The man said again, cheerfully.  
"Aa (yes/ok)" She said again as she slowly leaned back on the bed, wincing as the pillow touched her sore head.  
Before the man left, Toko asked  
"What is your name?"  
The man turned around, and smiled.  
"Soujiro, Seta Soujiro"  
"oh…"  
"Whats your name?"  
Toko was beginning to sleep again….just before she fell asleep, she said  
"Toko, Hayami Toko"  
then she fell asleep.  
*Soujiro……..* She thought as she slept.  
  
~ Next Day~  
  
Toko woke up again.  
Soujiro walked up to her with breakfast. Miso soup and some cold soba (er…they're cold noodles dipped into a sauce…)  
"Ohaiyo!! Hayami-san" He said cheerfully.  
"Ohaiyo, Seta-san" She smiled.  
"Call me Soujiro, Seta-san is too formal for me" Soujiro said with a smile.  
"Hai. But you have to call me Toko then." She said.  
"Hai, Toko-san"  
  
After Toko was done with breakfast, Soujiro asked,   
"Why were those men chasing a little girl like you?"  
Toko had veins pop out of the back of her head as she grinned back at him and said  
"Im not a little girl, Im 16! And how old are you? 16 too?"  
Soujiro grinned as he saw the flash of annoyance in her eyes when he called her "little".  
*She doesn't hide her emotions as well as I do. I can see everything in her eyes*  
"Iie (No), Im 18" He said.  
Toko sweatdropped.   
*Well, at least im not the only one who looks too young for my age….*  
  
"Anyway, who were those men, and why were they chasing you?" Soujiro asked again.  
Sadness and hatred flared in the girl's eyes before vanishing immediately.  
"They were my so called family." She said, her smile faltering for a second and a tone of bitterness in her voice.  
"So-called family?" Soujiro asked in confusion.  
"Tou-san(father) cheated on my step mother years ago. He got Kaa-san (mother) pregnant with me. They were going to keep me a secret, but my mother died soon after I was born, and my father was forced to bring me into his family. My step mom and step brothers have always hated me, but after Tou-san died when I was 4, I was sent to my step-uncles' house along with my step mother and brothers and they beat me and made me do all the work." Toko bit her lip and attempted to smile again, giving a shaky laugh.  
  
Soujiro was astonished. It was almost like how his family was like. Toko looked up and saw Soujiro's smile fall, and his eyes flashed with understanding and hatred.  
*So….he is one like me* She thought. *Smiling just to hide your pains inside*  
  
"Sometimes, they would beat me for fun. The louder I screamed in pain, the more the laughed. The more I cried, the more they insulted me for being weak. So I stopped crying and I stopped my emotions, only letting in the one thing they hated the most. My smile." She said.  
Toko looked up again. Soujiro's pupils seem to dilate (like when he went psycho after thinking about his past in episodes 55 and 56) His frown was almost frightening.  
  
Toko continued.  
"One day, the family was robbed. They needed money, and they thought they could get money by killing me off so the neighbors would think that the robber killed me too and so they would pity my family and give them more money"  
She saw Soujiro's hand tighten into the blankets. His fist was shaking and he clutched his head with his other hand, as if in pain.  
  
*Her family was trying to kill her, just like my family tried to kill me….* He thought,  
*I cant take this anymore…before my emotions get to much for me like it did when I battled Kenshin…..*  
"I..need to leave" Soujiro said huskily as he walked quickly out of the room.  
  
Toko watched him leave, and looked surpised when she saw a tear fall out as he dipped his head and left the room.  
*Up until now, he showed no reaction and no emotion except happiness. Is my past really that painful? Or is it something he remembered from his past?*  
  
Soujiro walked into the forest again. His face was dark and he struggled to calm himself.  
*I need to kill something…someone….* Soujiro thought savagely his past flooded him again.  
He remembered the pain he had been through, the fright as his "family" came to kill him off.  
Once again…he whispered,   
"At that time, nobody helped me……if you believe…..why werent you there….." He asked Kenshin in his mind.  
Then he corrected himself.  
"At that time, nobody helped Toko either…if you believe…..why didnt you help us….." He thought bitterly.  
  
He used his sword and cut the trees around him until tree trunks were flying all over the place.  
He was calm again, and he once again pasted the smile on his face. The sky was beginning to darken.  
Walking back into the room, he spotted Toko's strange weapons . He had taken them off her belt when he carried her into the room.   
  
  
"Strange weapons neh?'He heard the now- familiar voice say.  
"Aa" He answered with his familiar kawaii smile, "did you play fight with your friends?"  
  
"I never had any friends, they insulted me for being a bastard child, (A/N:"bastard" isnt really a bad word in this form…it just means that Mr A cheated on Mrs A and Mr A and Ms B got a child. The child is known as the bastard child or a bastard) and so I lived alone. But one day, I remembered Kaa-sans box she gave me before she died. I dug it out of my hiding place and I saw a belt with a straight sword, a dagger, and some spiked discs. A letter in the box told me that although my mother was Japanese, she was born in another country, there she learned to hold and use these weapons. I then began sneaking off to practice. I found out that though my strength was weak, I had a great talent in disc throwing." She explained.  
  
Soujiro tensed.   
*Her past is so much like mine. No friends….*He thought again.  
  
"Do you have any friends?" Toko asked.  
"No close friends…." Soujiro said sadly (A/N: but still with his KAWAII smile ^_____^)  
"Then why don't we be friends?" Toko said happily.  
"Huh? O….ok…" Soujiro said.  
"Finally, my first friend…arigatou…" The smiling Toko said with tears of gratitude in her eyes.  
*I should be the one saying thank you….you're my very first friend too* Soujiro thought.  
  
Silence ensued…..  
Soujiro, trying to break the silence, asked  
"Spiked discs? How do you use them?"   
"You throw them like you throw kunai (think Misao's small knife thingies) They're light and fast. So although the weapon doesn't have much strength, the speed of the weapon being thrown makes the weapon hot from friction and because of the speed, the discs can pierce through their skin quite well." She explained.  
"Show me?" Soujiro asked innocently.  
He handed her the tiny discs.  
  
"Im going to pin your sleeve against the wall" Toko declaired and before Soujiro could answer, 5 discs embedded themselves into his sleeve and in a matter of milliseconds, a shocked Soujiro was trying to get his hand off the wall.   
  
"Ano…how do you take these out?"An embarassed Soujiro asked after a few minutes of struggling to get the discs off his sleeve without hurting himself.  
  
"The discs are formed in a certain way so it takes a long and painful time to get the weapon out of flesh and clothes. If you want to take it out you need to do this."  
Toko beckoned Soujiro to come over.   
"You see…you need to twist it this way then pull out quickly ok?" Toko taught Soujiro.   
"Ah..so that's how to get them off." Soujiro smiled at Toko.  
Toko just smiled back.  
  
  
"Can you throw at me again? Except this time don't tell me where you're going to hit me." Soujiro asked.  
"Eh? Umm…ok…" A confused Toko said.  
*What is he going to do?* She wondered.  
She pretended she was looking at the wall, and she tossed the discs over her side quickly, aiming for Soujiro's other sleeve.  
Soujiro was ready. With one hand, he caught the discs, making Toko stare at him in wonder. (You know…like when Misao threw at Kamatari and he caught all her kunai)  
  
"You're the first person ever to do that." She gazed at him with a smile.  
Soujiro blushed and said  
"You really have talent…no one taught you?" He asked.  
"Nope! Soujiro-san…what about your past? I've told you mine…" She asked.  
Soujiro looked down…he couldn't bear to tell anyone yet  
"……….."He just grinned at her.  
  
*He's not answering…was his past really that painful? I told my past…* Toko thought but she decided not to keep asking him about it…he'll tell her…later…maybe….  
"Ano…any talents?" Toko asked.  
"My sword" Soujiro said. "everyone says im good with my sword…but…I don't believe them…not since someone beat me…"   
He thought of Kenshin's Amakakeru Technique.  
Before Toko could question any further, he tried to change the subject.  
  
"Ah…Toko-san….its night already…go get some sleep." He said.  
"What about you?" Toko replied.  
"Eh?" Soujiro said.  
"Aren't you going to sleep?" Toko said.  
"Well, yea…." Soujiro said.  
*This girl is confusing* he thought to himself.   
  
"Where are you going to sleep?" Toko asked.  
"The floor" He replied.  
"But you'll hurt your back!"  
"Ive been doing that for the last 3 days…."  
"Mou!! (No) You need to sleep in a bed!!"  
"But I only have one room…"  
"Get another one"  
"I don't have that much money…"  
"Then sleep with me."  
"EH?!?!?!?!?" The very surprised and flustered Soujiro said.   
*Sl- Sleep with he-her?!?!?!??!?!* He stuttered in his mind…  
*What is she thinking?!?!!?!!*  
  
"What? It's not a bad idea….we're just sleeping together…no big deal…." She said .  
Soujiro could feel his knees start to collapse on him.  
"Sleep…To-together?!?!?!?!?" Soujiro managed to say.  
*What is this girl thinking?!?!?!?!?* He thought wildly.  
"I-I barely kn-know her and..and…ive never…eh…" He accidently said aloud.  
A big sweatdrop formed behing his head as he looked at her smiling.  
"Heh…heh…heh…" He managed to say…  
*How pitiful you are Soujiro!! Ahh…im talking to myself now….* He thought again…  
  
Realization dawned on Toko's face as she realized what he thought she meant.  
"I didn't mean it that way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The now furiously blushing Toko stuttered.  
*Great…im stuttering like Soujiro-san now….* She thought to herself.  
"I meant that you could sleep with me…."Toko was starting to say….  
  
Then Soujiro got a nosebleed.  
Glaring with big freaky anime eyes she said (still with the smile!!)  
"I didn't finish what I was going to say yet!!!!" Toko yelled, laughing at Soujiro.  
  
"Ahem…" clearing her throat, Toko said  
"When I said that you could sleep with me…."   
She sweatdropped as Soujiro got an even bigger anime nosebleed and he both of his hands up to his nose to stop the blood from spewing everywhere.  
"I meant that we could share the bed….:  
More blood from Soujiro's nose.  
  
*If his nose keeps bleeding he's going to faint* She thought amusedly.  
"Urk…..bad choice of words….i meant that we could split the bed in half…you sleep on one side..and I sleep on the other..i didn't mean it THAT way HENTAI!!!!!" She said with a smile and a BIG sweatdrop.  
  
Soujiro's anime nosebleed suddenly stopped when he realized what she meant…  
"oh…eh..Toko-san…you don't have to worry about me…ill be fine" He said with a big smile.  
*phew* *She didn't mean it that way* he thought with relief, *I was getting scared*  
  
"huh? I cant hear you…come closer…." Toko said.  
Soujiro walked closer…  
"I said…you don't have to worry about me…"  
"Soujiro-san…your voice is too soft…come closer!!! " Toko grinned.  
Soujiro walked over to where Toko was.  
"I said…@__@!!!!!!!!!!!!" As Toko grabbed Soujiro's sleeve.  
  
"Soujiro-san…my hearing isnt THAT bad…but since you saved me…I owe you and I'll repay you by not allowing you to hurt your back on that floor!" She said triumphantly.  
"Uum…Toko-san…I promise I won't hurt my back..I'm used to it…." Soujiro-said with a smile.  
"Im not lettin go until you agree to sleep with m— er ::Soujiro's eyes widen like this O.O::…….I mean…until you agree to share the bed with – eh ::Soujiro's starting to get another nosebleed::….just sleep on this side of the bed" Toko managed to say.  
*Soujiro-sans got a very nasty mind….* She thought to herself.  
  
*Why am I reacting like this? I cant believe my mind is getting so…."tainted". Am I becoming a hentai?!…..O.o I am going crazy. Being a rurouni is MUCH harder than it looks* He thought crazily.  
"Fine, ill sleep on that side." He sighed with a small smile.  
Toko began to move aside for Soujiro.  
  
"Umm…I'm going to change first." Soujiro said.  
"In front of me?!" The astonished Toko said.  
"eh…..^_^0" Soujiro replied.  
"oi…-_-0" Toko replied. (A/N: lol im using kyoote lil face expressions!! ^_________^)  
Toko covered her eyes while Soujiro changed.  
  
"Im done" Soujiro announced.  
Toko uncovered her eyes.  
"I thought you were changing…" She said with confusion.  
"I did!" Soujiro laughed.  
Soujiro held up the shirt he took off. It was his buttoned Western style shirt (you know…the one he wears under his gi?)  
  
Toko sweatdropped.  
"You called that changing?" She smiled.  
Soujiro nodded his head.   
Toko just smiled back with another sweatdrop.   
*I see the amused but annoyed look in her eyes…reminds me of when Yumi-san used to yell at me when I did something wrong* Soujiro saddened at the thought of Shishio and Yumi's death, but he kept smiling.  
  
Toko pulled him down and said  
"Stop standing there daydreaming! Go to sleep already!!" She said laughing.  
The blushing Soujiro lay on the very edge of the bed.  
"Ano…Soujiro-san…you've never done this before have you?" Toko said.  
Soujiro froze.  
"done…done….is that what I think she meant? Is this a trap she set up to sedu—seduce me?!?!?!?!" Soujiro said to himself wildly.  
  
"Soujiro-san!! You misunderstood me again!!" A very blushing Toko said.  
Soujiro realized he had said his thoughts aloud again.  
*This never happened..why am I so….unlike myself around her…I used to be calm….what is she doing to me?!?!?!* He thought.  
  
"Soujiro-san…I meant that you never umm….slept next to a anyone before?" Toko asked.  
"Iie….." Soujiro said…  
"When I was still in my adopted family…they made me sleep in the barn with all the owls, rats, horses, cats…I was so scared….hearing them yowl and hoot, the bats sometimes swooping down…" Toko whispered…her memories flashing by her.  
  
Soujiro remembered when he was young…his parent made him sleep outside as well.  
"I had to do that several times too" He said.  
"Then whats so hard about sleeping next to me?" she asked innocently.  
Soujiro was speechless….  
  
"Im not going to do anything…im still injured!! And even if I werent injured…what would I want to do with you? Mr. Fake smiley! " she said.  
*fake smiley?!*  
"Yea I know you hide behind that smile…all your emotions…hide behind that smile....i know you're not smiling because you are truly happy" Toko accused.  
*I can't admit to her……too hard…..*sigh* ill go change the subject….*  
"Toko-san…thank you for letting me have half the bed…" He said as he scooted over a bit from the edge of the bed and more towards the middle.  
*He still wont tell me his past* Toko thought in dismay. *O well..at least he isnt scared of me anymore….*   
  
"Oyasuminasai (good night)" She said.  
"Oyasumi" Soujiro said back.  
Suddenly…Toko giggled.  
"Nani? (what)" Soujiro said.  
"I remember what you said…"  
"Said what?"  
Toko laughed again.  
"You said 'I-I barely kn-know her and..and…ive never…eh…'……hhmm…soujiro-san…what do you mean by ive never…..??" Toko giggled.  
Soujiro has sweat streaming down his back (anime style)  
As Toko pretended to think about it.  
"You've never……slept in a bed? Nah….you've never…..slept next to anyone? Hhhhmm…..i wonder what have you never done??"  
*Urk!!!!!!* Soujiro thought, getting very uncomfortable. *This is not a really good topic to talk about….i need to change the subject!!*  
  
"Ano…Toko-san…uumm…maybe you should get some sleep…you're still wounded…more sleep wil help you get better faster.." he managed to say.  
Toko giggled again.  
"Soujiro-san….dont be THAT embarassed…even though im quite surprised that a guy your age hasn't erm…done anything yet…most guys do do stuff at by the age of 16….like my evil step brothers….."  
Soujiro pretended he was asleep.  
*How did I get stuck with this girl?!?! Damn you stupid Kenshin. If you hadn't defeated me then I would've been fine staying at Shishio's place without a care in the world..* Soujiro thought.  
  
*Hes not really asleep ….i know it…people like us tend to act really well* She thought amusedly.  
"Soujiro-san…I actually think its kind of sweet that you seem so innocent about these things….but I guess people like us are like that neh? "Toko smiled.  
"Oyasumi, Soujiro-san"   
*people like……us? The fake smile….she knew….so what she meant by 'people like us'…..i guess she hasn't either..erk!! stop thinkin of that!!! Hentai! Hentai!!* Soujiro scolded himself.  
  
*Ive really lost it this time…ever since I started wandering…I get to be involved in the worst situations….kenshin you aho…(moron) if you didn't do that amakekeru technique and defeated me I would be fine with concealing my emotions…but ever since you told me you protect the weak…I've found it harder and harder to hide them everyday…..*  
  
~after a lot of tossing and turning near the edge of the bed~  
  
**sigh* I guess sharing half the bed isnt as cramped as I thought it would be….*  
Soujiro looked over at the Toko. She was asleep already.  
*Then again…shes quite skinny…I guess that's why….*  
Soujiro made himself more comfortable on the bed…not so embarassed anymore…  
He slowly dozed off…and began to dream…….of blood  
  
  
a/n: O.o long chappie for me…oo ow…my wrist hurts..i guess my keyboard is kinda weird…ggrr…bad for my wrist…anyway…oish..ive made soujiro way too OOC …ill get him back into his character later…I just had to write down soujiro's funny encounter with his "innocence" lol…I was reading this fanfic where it portrayed soujiro as the "im scarred for life" character whenever he sees something wrong it was so funny so I guess the idea got stuck in my mind. ^_^0  
  
Hmm…I was going to make Soujiro more like how he was in the anime…but I guess so far he's acting more like the chibi Soujiro's in the manga….(like the part where he makes a shishio doll and usui steals it? Lol…)  
  
oish…I was going to make this ficcie more serious and angsty….but I guess it turned into humor….-_-0 I guess this will be a humor fic then……..  
  
this fic is not turning out the way I want it too!! . 


	2. The Nightmare Begins

A/N: hiyee again!!! Toko-chan here!! So far.my fan fic isnt turning out the way I wanted it too..I'll try to make him less OOC here oki? ^_^  
  
Hhm....my formatting doesn't work on ff.net....it's so jumbled up now..its not supposed to be like that!!! .  
  
So sorry if its too hard for you to read....but my format just wont show on fanficcie.net.....  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Soujiro or Rurouni Kenshin ok?  
  
To my four precious reviewers...four of em....*shniff* im so lucky...i thought i was only going to get two.....^_^0  
  
Takato: LOTS of stuff ahead for Soujiro...OHOHOHOHO *megumi laugh* and coming up...in the next chapter....CRAZY KENSHIN!!! ^_- ~*  
  
Chris: Heres teh next chapter!! I hope i didnt make you wait THAT long....^^;;;;;;;  
  
Queen of Vegetasei: Yup!! More coincidences...coming up!! (That includes the crazy Kenshin in the next couple chapters.....*hint hint keep reading my chapters hint hint* ^_____^  
  
Sugarcrystal : -_-0 you dont know anything about RK ......and yet youre reading my ficcie......... -___________________-0 well at least you're reviewing.......^^;;;;;;;  
  
The Nightmare Begins  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *Run....must...run...* The little boy thought. He scrambled into his little hiding place. "Oi! Soujiro!! Doko???? (where are you??)We need to talk to you...." Voices called out. *Tired....so tired...so scared....* the seven or eight year old Soujiro thought crazily. (A/N: i always thought Soujiro was eight when he killed his family..but he was 17 when he killed Okuba...and he spent ten years with Shishio..so i guess he was seven...but..grr...so confusing!! .)  
  
"There you are Soujiro!! We were looking for you!!" A man said as he found Soujiro. *Where...is...my sword!! My wakizashi!!(sword..something like that.......teh sword Shishio gave him) I....need....my sword.* Soujiro's eyes scanned the ground. *Where did my sword go????* "Soujiro...." The man, Soujiro's adopted brother, said again... Soujiro's eyes widened in sudden fear as his brother's head slid off, blood gushing from his neck. "Soujiro...." His brother's head now lay on the floor, but he was still speaking...even as his body slumped down. The man's head gazed at him with a taunting gaze.  
  
"Soujiro........" He said again... Suddenly...Soujiro was not under the house anymore...he was outside... He heard screams, screams for mercy...screams of fright. Blood splattered on his face as he saw head roll to the floor, limbs break.  
  
He saw Shishio "The strong survive....and the weak die" He heard Shishio say. The little boy gazed at the blood around him....the smell invading his senses....The sight of death corrupting his young mind......  
  
"IIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEE!!!!!(NOOO)" The young boy screamed. He clawed at his face...banging his head on the ground, "get...these...visions out of my head!!!!!!!!" He snarled. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Toko woke up with a start. Looking next to her...she saw Soujiro clawing at his face, yelling anguished cries. "Soujiro-san!! Daijobu?? Wake up!!!" She yelled desperately as she shook his shoulders. "Soujiro-san!!" she cried again. "THE BLOOD!!! NNOOOO!!! NO DONT KILL ME!! TOO MUCH BLOOD!!!" Soujiro shrieked as he curled up and clutched his head.  
  
"Soujiro-san!!! Wake up!! What blood?? Soujiro-san!!!" Toko kept shaking Soujiro, trying to get him to wake up. Seeing that she couldn't do anything to wake him up, she did the only thing she knew. She slapped him.  
  
Soujiro's eyes slowly opened, his eyes were glazed and his face showed terror. Suddenly he grabbed Toko and buried his head into her shoulder, crying. "Shishio-san....strong...survive...weak die....." He kept mumbling. Toko, surprised by his sudden crying, stroked his back absentmindly as he cried. *He's almost like a young child, even if he is older than me* She thought to herself.  
  
A while later, Soujiro managed to doze off on Toko's shoulder, but he was trembling and muttering "Too much blood, someone help, anybody, anybody! Help!! (i think the "help" part is from episode 55 or 56....)"  
  
Seeing that Soujiro probably wouldnt start yelling or clawing at his face anymore, she slowly tried to get him off her and tuck him in. One problem. He refused to budge. *Kuso!! What have i gotten myself into this time...Why won't he get off me already!!! * She thought with an annoyed look, *You'd think his hands were stuck with tar...*  
  
Pushing harder this time, she managed to tilt Soujiro so he flopped back on the bed.....but he still didnt let go of Toko. Now she was blushing madly as she landed on top of him. *I am going to kill this guy when he wakes up* She muttered angrily. Soujiro's grip on her tightened. "Kaa-san, Tou-san....a real family...." He mumbled. *Real family?* She thought with confusion. *What is disturbing him so badly? Why won't he tell me?* Toko then fell asleep on Soujiro.  
  
~Next Morning~  
  
Soujiro woke up. *Another nightmare* he thought to himself. He has been having them for as long as he remembered. *It felt so real* He thought to himself. He then looked down, and froze when he saw Toko sleeping on him. *She...She was trying to seduce me!! * He thought with fright. But then he noticed he had his arms around her, whereas her arms were at her sides. *She couldnt have seduced me...does that mean...i ...seduced her??!?!?!?!?! * He thought as panic creeped into his mind. *I must really be turning into a hentai!!* He thought again. "Oi, Soujiro-san...let go of me already will ya?" Toko said sleepily. Blushing, Soujiro immediately let go of her. She rolled back to her side of the bed.  
  
"Had nightmares" She asked, her eyes still closed. "How did you know?" Soujiro asked. He was very surprised. "I don't know..i think i started thinking you had a nightmare when you started screaming and clawing yourself....or maybe it was when you started crying on me..." Toko opened her eyes. "Im gonna get you for that." Soujiro was confused. "For what?"  
  
"I was trying to wake you up and all of the sudden you just grabbed me and started sobbing!!" She muttered. A sweatdrop went on Soujiro's head as dozens of spiked disc flew at him at alarming speed, pinning him into the wall. "Ano...Toko-san...can you let me down now?" He asked while pasting a smile on his face. His feet dangled in 5 feet from the ground.  
  
Toko stood up. "What were you dreaming about??" She asked. "What do you mean?" Soujiro said. "Well you were talking about blood and this Shishio guy and strong killing weak people and everything." She answered.  
  
Soujiro froze. *The strong survive and the weak die, basically the weak is food for the strong.* He remembered Shishio branding those words into his mind, and how quickly Kenshin destroyed those thoughts by defeating him. *The strong...protect the weak* Kenshin said to him.  
  
Toko just looked at him. "You're daydreaming again?!" She said angrily. Soujiro snapped out of his daze. "Huh?" He said with a grin. Toko smiled. "I think I'll leave you there until you drop down..." She said with an amused twinkle in her eyes. "T-Toko-san you can't leave me here!!" Soujiro said as he started struggling to get down. CRASH! Soujiro managed to fall, but the spiked disc still clung on to him.  
  
Laughing, Toko walked over to him and helped him get the discs out. "That was very entertaining" She said. Soujiro just sweatdropped.  
  
They walked out of the inn. "So...where are we going?" Toko asked Soujiro. "Im going to take you back to your home" He replied. Her eyes grew wide. "You can't do that! They'll just chase after me again!!" She told him. *Oo...i forgot she was chased out of her house...* He thought to himself. "Then...I guess we'll part ways..." He said. "WHAT?! You're leaving me here?!?! No way!! Im coming with you!!" The hyper smiling girl said. Soujiro sweatdropped again. "Fine, fine...." He said and they both went out of the village and into the forest.  
  
They were halfway out of the forest when they heard someone yell "Stop right there." They turned around and met ten men. The biggest one stepped forward. "Hand me all your valuables or else we'll kill you." The man snarled. "We don't have any valuables" Soujiro said.  
  
The robbers stared at the two grinning people *Why do they keep smiling? Are they insane?* The wondered. "Then hand over the girl" The man said. "I can't do that" Soujiro replied with a smile. "Then shine!!(die! Shine is pronounced as shee-neh) Get them!" The man yelled.  
  
Soujiro and Toko sprung into action. Soujiro easily dodged the men's attacks and with a few slashes, the four men that surrounded him collapsed into a pile of limbs, bones, and organs, with blood gushing out.  
  
Three other men find their eyes, faces, and throats pierced by the spiky discs and they fell, not dead, but writhing in pain. Soujiro calmly walked up to them and put them out of their misery.  
  
Two other men were crowding around Toko. Their eyes full of lust for blood. They both attacked Toko at the same time. Dodging and blocking their attacks, Toko managed to knock one in the throat, making him throw up blood and faint, and she slammed her dagger into the other's side, making him fall to the floor.  
  
Then the last man. Obviously the leader of the group, carried her high above his head and was about to throw her down, when a flash of blue and Toko felt the wind ruffle her hair as Soujiro grabbed Toko out of the man's grasp and carried her to safety. When Toko looked back, the mans head was gone. Goggle eyed, she stared at the smiling boy. *I...I never even saw him attack...Soujiro-san must be much more skilled then i imagined.....*  
  
"Daijobou?" Soujiro asked softly. "Aa" She answered. She stood up and the two continued walking. "Eto....where are we going?" Toko asked. "To the next village." Soujiro replied. "D-Demo...thats the village i used to live in!! They'll kill me for sure!!!" Toko yelled. "They won't." "What makes you so sure?" "I'll protect you." Toko looked up in surprise. "Yaksoku? (eh...i dink i spelled it wrong...its supposed to be 'promise?')" Toko said. "Yaksoku. (Promise)." Soujiro replied.  
  
They entered the village. The first thing Soujiro noticed were the many glares the villagers gave Toko. "Why is she back?" "What is she doing here?" They all muttered angrily to each other. Toko walked closer to Soujiro, but she had an even bigger smile then she had before. *Her emotions...are so blocked through her smile I can't even tell what she's thinking....* Soujiro thought amazedly.  
  
They walked into an inn. "One room please" Soujiro said. As the inn keeper gave them their room, Soujiro couldn't help but notice the children and teenagers of the village follow them and stare at him with angry eyes.  
  
As they reached the room. Toko sat on the bed, emotionless except for the smile. "Toko-san...im going to buy some food, would you like to come with me?" He asked politely. "Iie, I'll stay here..." Toko said.  
  
Soujiro walked through the market, but everywhere he looked, he got angry glares. Then, someone around the age of 17 walked up to him. "What are you doing with her? Why are you here?" He demanded. Soujiro was surprised. "What do you mean?" He asked in his cheerful manner. "Why couldn't you two just leave this village and never come back." He gritted his teeth. "I dont understand" Soujiro said. "You two smiling freaks....I can't believe you even like that bastard child." The kid said again. "You mean Toko-san?" Soujiro blinked. "You know what I mean. What do you see in her? She's a bastard child, not worthy of anyone. She's not pure because she was never part of a real family, dont you understand?!" The boy screamed out. Soujiro began to hate this boy very much. *Does that mean I'm tainted because i was not part of a real family?* He thought bitterly.  
  
"So just because she's a bastard child means she's tainted?" Soujiro asked again, his smile faltering a little. "Exactly. I'm glad you finally understand." The boy nodded approvingly.  
  
Soujiro suddenly had the urge to decapitate the boy's head from is body. "Just so you know, Toko-san is a very good friend of mine, and i refuse to have you insulting her." Soujiro glared at the boy. Then realizing he had let his smile down, he immediately grinned at the boy again. "Well, Ja (bye)" Soujiro said as he brushed past the boy.  
  
*No wonder Toko-san was so hurt...* He thought to himself, *no wonder she didn't have any friends.*  
  
Toko sat in the room. She wasn't smiling anymore. She thought to herself *Im back at this village, and all the people start glaring at me.....and Soujiro-san...I wonder if he hates me now...i just made the entire village hate him too.....Gomen(sorry) Soujiro-san...* A tear slipped from her eye.  
  
Just then, the door opened. Toko quickly wiped away her tears and put a smile on her face. "I brought food" Soujiro smiled. "Arigatou...(thank you)..did any of the villagers make fun of you?" She asked. "Iie" Soujiro lied, to make Toko feel better. The truth was, he had to dodge several fruits and vegetables and smile at many people as they insulted him.  
  
"You don't have to lie...i know they did..." She said sullenly, but still a with a slight smile. "We'll leave early tommorow morning ok?" Soujiro said, trying to change the subject. "Hai.." Silence came.  
  
The two ate their dinner and they prepared to sleep. Soujiro, taking his side of the bed, said "Daijobu?" "Eh? " Toko said. "Are you hurt?" "What do you mean?" "I mean emotionally" ".............Im fine" Toko said, with a bit of effort. *For the truth...i feel terrible....* She thought to herself.  
  
More silence.  
  
"Soujiro-san?" "Nani? (what)" "Arigatou..." "What did i do?" Soujiro asked, he was surprised. "For being my tomodachi (friend) and for once, Im not alone." Toko said. Soujiro just smiled. "Oyasumi, Toko-san" "Oyasumi."  
  
  
  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The little boy ran, he ran as fast as he could, and crawled under the house. *Dont let them find me dont let them find me* He thought frantically. "Soujiro!! Oi!! Temme...(You bastard) where are you??" A voice yelled. A head poked into the boy's hiding place. "So there you are...." Soujiro's adopted brother said as Soujiro gasped in fear. Suddenly, Soujiro's brother's features melted, his nose getting bigger, his eyes dilating. Soon, Soujiro's former adopted brother now became the robbers' leader he killed today. "Hello again." The leader smirked. "Any valuables today?" *My sword....the sword Shishio-san gave me...where is it?? I know i hid it here...* He grasped desperately for the wakizashi) he hid...but it was gone. The scenery changed. Soujiro stood up. He was in a cold desolate place, with dry, cracked dirt. A hand reached up from the earth and grabbed on to his legs. Suddenly, thousands and thousands of hands reached up, grabbing at Soujiro. Several bodies got up from the ground. Soujiro now knew where he was, he was in a vast graveyard filled with everyone he had killed. He saw a the rotting corpse of Okuba, and other government officials as well as some other villagers. They cried "Revenge!!" as they stumbled toward Soujiro. Soujiro tried to run, but his legs were held down by the hands... "LET ME GO!! AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!" He screamed in terror. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Toko woke up again. The screaming she then heard sent chills up her spine. Soujiro was having nightmares again. He waved his arms wildly, as if trying to brush something away, and he kept screaming "They're gonna kill me!! Save me! Shishio-san!! (A/N: thats from episode 55) Help me! Anybody please!! Anybody!! Anybody!! Someone help me!!!!!!!!!!!!!(A/N: also from episode 55 ...*shniff* when he said that it was sooo sad...wah...)"  
  
Toko leaned down to him and whispered in his ear "Soujiro-san...noone is going to kill you...I'll help you...Soujiro- san..I'll help you..." She repeated this over and over.... *It used to help me when Tou-san was here...he used to do this to me whenever i had nightmares until he died....* She thought.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The rotting corpses came at him, yelling revenge...Soujiro shrieked for help.....then....relaxing wind blew around him, chasing the ghouls away. "Soujiro-san...I'll help you..." He heard the wind whisper. The smell of Lilacs and Chamomile flooded into his senses, making him relaxed.... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Toko watched as Soujiro's face get more peaceful and soon she could tell Soujiro was having a now dreamless sleep. *Thank you Otou-san...i knew it would work...* She thought to herself. She stared at Soujiro for a moment. *He's not smiling anymore....his emotions are revealed...* She mused. *Even though i dont know his past, I'm pretty sure it was bad. His nightmares must reflect off of his past...poor Soujiro...* She thought to herself.....without giving him the ending suffix 'san'. She then later fell asleep, with Soujiro's peaceful face in her mind.  
  
~Early in the Morning~  
  
Soujiro woke up. *It has been a long time since i slept that well....a dreamless sleep....* He thought. He turned his head, only to notice that Toko was sleeping near his shoulder. *The smell of lilacs...and chamomile....* He thought. He remembered the wind chasing off his nightmare. *Could she have done something to help me?* He wondered. He looked at the sky. *We better get moving and get out this village*  
  
"Toko-san....wake up..Toko-san...." He said gently, prodding her to get her awake. Grumbling, Toko managed to get up. As they got dressed...(A/N: er...i mean...Soujiro got dressed....all he did was put back on his western style shirt....^_^0 iono if you would call that getting dressed.....) They went out and was ready to go on their way when they confronted Toko's step brothers, along with several villagers.  
  
"Tenken...." Teruno sneered. Soujiro looked up, surprised. "Yea, Tenken no Soujiro, we know who you are. That fugitive from Kyoto." Shiku said with disgust. *Fugitive? What did he do?* Toko wondered as she looked at him.  
  
"Yup, you found me...what do you want?" He asked, his voice dangerous and cold, unlike his smiling face. "You killed our uncle, and you're going to pay for that!" Hajita declared. Soujiro lowered into his fighting stance, hand on the hilt of his nihontou. "Try me" He stated. The fight was over as quickly as it was started. Before the three brothers even got a chance to yell out their battle cries, their heads rolled onto the floor. They probably didnt even know what hit them.  
  
"Shun ten Satsu" Soujiro said as Toko looked up to question what he just did.  
  
The kid that had yelled at Soujiro earlier now stared at the headless bodies. "You...killed them." The kid quietly said. "YOU KILLED THEM!! MURDERER!!" he then shouted.  
  
"Juro!! Stop it!!" Toko yelled, "they were going to kill him, what did you expect? That Soujiro-san was going to stay there and let them butcher him to pieces?!"  
  
Juro looked up at Soujiro. "Tenken...you will pay for what you did....you and your tainted woman!!" He snarled. Soujiro just smiled and said "First of all, Toko-san isnt tainted...second...she isnt my woman ::Toko blushes::...and third you will pay for insulting her" With another blur of blue, Soujiro then sheath his sword.  
  
"What did you do? Tickle me?" Juro sneered. Suddenly, blood pooled under him. Juro looked down and his expression was one that has seen a ghost. His body was sliced in two and slowly, as it topple over, Juro died, his expression staying with him even until death.  
  
"Toko-san, iku (lets go)" Soujiro said solemnly, once again contradicting the smile on his face. He took Toko's hand and he lead her out of the village, walking in a defiant way almost as if he was daring someone to come challenge him.  
  
They walked into the forest and once Soujiro knew she'd be safe, he said "Toko-san, I..have to go somewhere really quick..I'll be right back..." "Hai" Toko nodded.  
  
Soujiro walked till he was out of hearing distance from Toko. There he tucked sat down and folded his arms around his knees and cried.  
  
Toko just sat on a rock and wondered. *Tenken no Soujiro....Fugitive of Kyoto.....what does that mean? What did he do? He killed so many people.....he killed at least 7 while i was with him...and he probably had killed more in his past....and yet....he seems so kind.....*  
  
~Half an hour later~ Soujiro came back, his smile stamped on his face (A/N: as usual ^_^) "We can go now" He said. "So...where are we going now? The next village?" Toko asked. Soujiro nodded. "Aa...but we have a problem..." "Eh?" Toko looked at him. "I dont have any money left" Soujiro said as Toko fell down (anime style!!) on the ground, twitching. "And it would take weeks until we reach Tokyo...so hopefully we won't starve..." Soujiro continued. Toko stayed on the ground, twitching with a big sweatdrop.  
  
The two tired travelers had found a spot to rest for the night. It was a pretty place near the river. The ground didnt have that many rocks and the trees made an almost perfect circle. "Toko-san, are you hungry?" Soujiro asked. "A little" Toko admitted, "you?" Before Soujiro answered, his stomach grumbled. "Aa" Soujiro laughed, his face turning a slight shade of pink. "I'll go find food" Toko declared. "I'll fish" Soujiro said. So the two parted ways.  
  
~An hour later~ The two came back . Soujiro managed to get two decent sized fish, and Toko got some water and some dried jasmine. "Eto...where did you get the bowl?" Soujiro pointed to the round piece of pottery filled with water. "I fished it out of your little bag." Toko said. "Eh...no wonder it looked so familiar" Soujiro said as he sweatdropped. "Whats the dried jasmine for?" Soujiro asked again. "It's to make jasmine tea!" Toko said. So the two managed to get a decent meal.  
  
The two tried to make themselves comfortable and go to sleep. Soujiro sat against a tree, while Toko tried to sleep on the ground. "Itai.." Toko complained, "the ground is so hard...and my back hurts when i sleep sitting up..." Soujiro didnt answer. Toko got an idea. "Soujiro...do you mind if i sleep on you?" She asked innocently.  
  
She began to have hallucinations...imagining Soujiro as a big blue pillow. She shook her head. *Stupid hallucinations...still Soujiro does seem like a nice pillow...* She thought sleepily. And before Soujiro answered her question, Toko was dozing off on Soujiro's shoulder.  
  
The night was cold. The breeze blew past Toko making her shiver. Soujiro took off his gi (A/N: He didnt take off his Western style shirt this time cuz it was cold so stop drooling you hentai Soujiro fans!!! ::Hentai Soujiro fans walk away grumbling:: Now where was i.....)  
  
Soujiro took off his gi and covered him and Toko with it, like a blanket. A bit warmer, the two managed to sleep for a while.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ He was drowning. Soujiro was drowning. He was lost in the ocean, crying for help. Suddenly, he saw a piece of driftwood floating towards him, he reached towards it, then recoiled in horror. The thing he reached for wasn't driftwood, it was the upper body of Juro. Suddenly, the waves turned crimson and it splashed upon him with vengeance. Soujiro was drowning in an ocean of blood. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Toko was awakened by the shivering and trembling of Soujiro. *Does he have nightmares EVERY night?! O well..at least he isnt screaming and clawing himself this time....* Toko thought worriedly. She wrapped her arms around Soujiro and held him while he dipped his head onto her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her. His arms tightened more and more around her till Toko could barely breath. He was obvously terrified of this nightmare.  
  
*He smells like pine and running streams and everything wonderful in nature...* Toko thought. *Then again...he was a rurouni wandering around in the forests most of his time so that would probably explain why* She thought again.  
  
Meanwhile, Soujiro was burying his face into her hair.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Soujiro was about to give up and drown when suddenly, the smell of Lilacs and Chamomile came again. The sweet smell made him relax and the ocean slowly turned back into water and calmed down. The ocean then solidified and Soujiro found himself looking at........  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
*Toko-chan's shirt...er......Toko-san I mean.....* Soujiro thought. Toko felt him stir. "Finally awake?? I thought you were going to squash me for sure..." She joked.  
  
Neither of them felt like sleeping again, and since it was almost dawn, they decided to keep walking.  
  
They walked in silence, until........ "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!" screech Toko, jumping behing Soujiro.  
  
"Nani? Nani ka??" Soujiro asked her with concern. "S-Sn-Snake!!!!" Toko said as she pointed to a tree on top of them. It was a green garden snake. Totally harmless. "Toko-san..... the snake is harmless...and from what i heard...a snake is a rare delicacy in some foreign places." Soujiro said with a small sweatdrop and a grin. "Eew....Soujiro-san.....would you eat one?" She asked, eyeing the snake suspiciously. Soujiro thought for a moment. "Iie....well...not unless it was a life or death matter..." Soujiro said. Toko was relieved to hear that, although she clung to Soujiro's back for most of the day afterwards.  
  
After finding the spot they'll be sleeping at, Toko went off to the river to take a bath. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!" screamed Toko. Soujiro rushed off to find her and see what was happening. "AAAAAAH!!!!!!!!! COLD!! The water is so cold!!!!!" She cried out. Soujiro froze.....and...his jaw stretched down to the floor. Toko was undressed and in water. Noticing Soujiro...she blushed 20 shades of red and screamed  
  
"SOUJIRO-SAN no HENTAII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" And then she threw dozens of spiked discs at him again. Soujiro just ran and tried to dodge the discs. He reached their resting spot again and amusedly thought *I guess she thinks im a total hentai now...* He sighed. *Sometimes i think she is right*  
  
When Toko came back, she glared at Soujiro enough to make him feel very nervous. He could just picture her thinking 'hentai' at him. He went off to take his bath. (A/N: *author struggles to keep hentai soujiro fans from peeping at him taking a bath*) Eventually, Toko forgave him and stopped glaring. (Much to Soujiro's relief)  
  
It was night again. Luckily, the day wasn't as cold as the night before, but Toko still shivered. (A/N: of course she would be cold...after all...she was wearing something close to a tanktop while Soujiro was wearing long sleeves!!) So, Soujiro took off his gi and let her wear it.  
  
As they ate fish and had tea again, Toko asked "How long have you been a rurouni?" "About a year" Soujiro said absentmindly. "O...what did you do before that?" Toko asked again. "..........." Soujiro just gave her a grin and looked away. *He's still not telling me anything* Toko said with a sigh.  
  
"Lets go to sleep" Soujiro announced. Soujiro leaned on a tree again, and Toko put her head on his lap. "You make a nice pillow" Toko commented. Soujiro just blushed. *A .....pillow?* he thought amusedly.  
  
This night was one of Soujiro's best nights ever. For once he had no nightmares at all, jus a nice dreamless sleep with the scent of Lilacs and Chamomile in his mind.  
  
~Two weeks later~  
  
"Finally! Tokyo!" Toko said. "Aa" Soujiro said with a grin.  
  
They walked into the market place. "Ano.....Oji-san (old man)......is there a nearby inn?" Soujiro politely asked an old man. "Im sorry...there's no inn around this part of the city, but you can ask that nice lady who works at the Kamiya Dojo." The man said. "Arigatou" Toko said.  
  
After a few minutes of asking people for directions to the dojo, they had found the right place. "Let's hope the people there are nice enough to let us stay in a room....we dont have any money left" Soujiro said. "Aa" Toko said. And so.....the two knocked on the Kamiya door and waited for someone to open it.....  
  
The door opened and there stood a young woman, most likely 19 or 20. "May i help you?" She asked.  
  
A/N: finally....my wrist hurts again....i type too much......O.o Hopefully this chappie is a bit better than the other one......wah...  
  
More to come: so Soujiro and Toko are staying at the dojo...what happens then?  
  
Review PLEASE?????????  
  
Just...no flames....-_-# 


	3. Chaos at Kamiya Dojo

A/N: Toko-chan here again!! O.o...do you think my chappies are to long? Btw...i dink my character is starting to seem too much like Misao...O.O das not sposed to happen....... Oish...anyhoo.....Dun dun dun!! Toko (not me) and Soujiro reach teh Kamiya Dojo!!! Soujiro: *pops out of nowhere* we do? Me: YEA YOU DO!! Toko (not me): it didnt say so in the script you gave us.... Me: *checks script* hey...who put whiteout all over teh scripts?!?! ::Saitoh runs away:: Me: HEY!! GET BACK HERE!!! ::pales:: uh oh... RUN!!! ::Runs away as Saitoh goes into his Gatotsu stance::  
  
Sorry for not updating so long......my formatting just wont work!! ive tried and tried but it always ends up looking weird on ff.net!!!! So im very sorry that the formatting is still messed up......it might be because my chappies are too long...this one is 16 pages.....x_x  
  
Wai! Im so proud!! I got 8 reviews!! ^^;;; Thats a lot considering that i have a OC fanficcie....well to me it is...*glares at the OC authors who got more reviews*  
  
Andalumeni: As i said....i cant change the formatting. The formatting seems perfect right not on Microsoft Word, but once it appears on ff.net....it changes!! So once again im very sorry. Toko's family recognized Sou-chan as Tenken, but let's just say they're complete idiot who dont know what they are up against. Remember, Toko's family is very arrogant. And last of all, i forgot Sou-chan spied on the Kamiya Dojo.....^^;;;;; So i cant change it right now since it will mess up the plot....so lets just say he forgot...(which is unlikely but ...o well....^_^0)  
  
Queen of Vegetasai: Thankies...i feel so honored for being one of the best OC stories you read...*shniff* im so proud....heheheh and the hentai Sou- chan club...uh oh....O.o *prevents Queen from following Sou-chan into the bath house* hehehehhe ^^  
  
Sasori: hehehe yup...this is gonna be good....more craziness from Kenshin and heres a little hint.....jealous Tsubame will be coming up....in the next...hmm...2 chapters? Heheheh *evil grin*  
  
Daja: hmm...not a Sou-chan fan? O well!! Whatever fan you are, Im sure he or she will be in this ficcie!! (Well, ok I admit, Shishio, Tomoe, or Enishi wont be in this ficcie....-_- i cant think of anything for them.....)  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own that totally kyoote guy right there *points at Sou Chan* and I don't own RK either. Kamya Dojo Surprise  
  
"May I help you?"  
  
The woman was wearing a pretty yellow kimono and she put her long black hair into a high ponytail with a pretty ribbon.  
  
Ano.....is this the Kamiya Dojo?" Soujiro asked. "Hai...........I'm Kamiya Kaoru, the instructor of the dojo." The woman answered. "May we stay here for a few days? We don't have any money though........" Soujiro said.  
  
" Of course you can stay, dont worry about the money. You can stay here for as long as you like." Kaoru exclaimed. "Arigatou, Kaoru-san" Soujiro said politely with his famous smile.  
  
They walked into the dojo. "Oi, busu, who was at the door?" A spiky haired boy asked as he practiced with his bokken.  
  
"BUSU?!?!?!?! Ill get you for that, Yahiko-CHAN" Kaoru said it emphasis on the "chan" part. "'Chan' Ja nai yo!!!!! (Im not little....something like that)" Yahiko yelled as Kaoru began swinging at him with her bokken.  
  
"It's very energetic here..." Toko remarked. Soujiro smiled and nodded.  
  
Then, Sanosuke came. "Jou-chan!! Yahiko!! What are you guys fighting about this time?? Can i borrow some money??" He yelled out, then he frozed...he glared at Soujiro.  
  
"Tenken" He said with a cold voice, "what are you doing here. Get out, now!" And Sanosuke immediately began punching at Soujiro. "Nice to see you too, Sanosuke-san" Soujiro said with a smile as he easily dodged Sano's attacks.  
  
Kenshin came out. "Ma, ma.....can't we just stop fighting?" Then HE froze.  
  
"Soujiro-san! Konnichiwa!!" Kenshin said surprisedly (Theres no word like that is there?). Then as Sano punched at Soujiro, Soujiro moved and Sanosuke punched....Kenshin  
  
"OOOOOOORRRRROOOOOOOoooooooooooooo..." Kenshin managed to say with swirly eyes. "Kenshin, gomen" Sano said with a laugh.  
  
Toko just stared with round eyes. *Does Soujiro...know them?* She wondered.  
  
Kaoru and Yahiko stopped fighting. "Kenshin....you know them?" Kaoru asked. "I know Soujiro." Kenshin replied.  
  
"He's Tenken no Soujiro, the guy who almost beat Kenshin." Sano said angrily. "Demo....whose the girl??" Kaoru wondered. "That's my friend, Toko-san" Soujiro cheerfully said. "Hajimemashite (i spelled it wrong...anyway its kinda like how do you do...i think....)" Toko said with a big smile.  
  
The Kenshin-gumi looked from Soujiro to Toko, Toko to Soujiro. "Oi....Kenshin" Sano poked at the red haired man. "They both have that freakish smile on their faces..." Soujiro and Toko sweatdropped.  
  
"Kenshin...Soujiro-san tried to kill you?" Kaoru asked worriedly at Kenshin. "Aa...that was under Shishio-san's orders..." Soujiro said with his little smile. *Again...Shishio-san...* Toko thought. *Who is Shishio-san?*  
  
"Im a rurouni now, like how Himura-san was. But, it's a lot harder than i expected, and i'm kind of broke...." Soujiro continued. "Stay with us as long as you want! And, you may call me Kenshin de gozaru" The ex rurouni said. "Hai, Kenshin-san." Soujiro said with a small bow.  
  
"I never thought I'd see you in Tokyo" Soujiro told Sano and Kenshin. "I never thought I'd see you either, de gozaru yo" Kenshin replied.  
  
Sano just glared at Soujiro. "I don't trust him." Sano muttered. "If Kenshin can trust Soujiro-san, then i can too" Kaoru declared.  
  
"Besides, they only look like they're what...16?" Yahiko replied.  
  
"Ano....I'm 18..." Soujiro said, "Toko's 16" Yahiko stared at him with round eyes. "EH?!?!?" He managed to say. *He looks so young...* Yahiko thought in disbelief.  
  
"ah...Toko-dono (A/N: Toko-dono..it rhymes!! Hehehehe )...you seem awfully quiet, that you do." Kenshin said. Toko seemed to hide behind Soujiro. "Eto...i'm not used to meeting so many friendly people at one time" She said timidly, "besides, it's amusing to just watch the conversation."  
  
*"im not used to meeting so many 'friendly' people at one time'... Hmm...her past must be like Soujiro's....full of people who were cruel...that must be why she has that smile on her face too* Kenshin thought understandingly.  
  
"Toko-san, this is Kenshin-san, and Sanosuke-san" Soujiro told Toko, who bowed and smiled politely to each of them. "And this is Kaoru-dono and Yahiko-chan" Kenshin finished.  
  
"CHAN JA NAI!!!!" Yahiko yelled.  
  
"Let me show you you rooms!" Kaoru said, "come this way." Soujiro and Toko followed Kaoru.  
  
"I wonder how Soujiro met Toko...." Kenshin wondered out loud. "I bet Toko doesn't know about Soujiro's past....otherwise she would've left him by now" mutterd Sano. "Sanosuke!! You don't have to be that mean de gozaru...." Kenshin tried to defend the boy.  
  
~Back with Soujiro, Toko, and Kaoru~  
  
"This is your room, Soujiro, right next to Kenshin's room. And Toko, your room is right next to his" Kaoru said happily. "Kaoru-san, you seem awfully happy to have us here." Toko said. "Aa! It's always nice to meet new people!" Kaoru said.  
  
~Evening~  
  
"Soujiro, where are you going?" Kenshin asked. "Im going to cook" Soujiro said cheerfully. "Soujiro can cook?!" A surprised Sano said. Toko popped out of nowhere. "Aa! Soujiro's the best cooker there is!!" She said, almost proudly, with a big grin.  
  
"The best cooker is Megumi!" Declared Sano. "Mou!! Its Kenshin!!" Argued Kaoru. "You're all wrong!! The best cooker is Tsubame!!" Yahiko yelled. Everyone looked at him.  
  
"What?" Yahiko said. "Ano...we've never tried any of Tsubame's cooking before..." Kaoru said. "Eto...I just thought that since Tsubame works at Akebeko, she must be a good cooker..." Yahiko trailed off, blushing.  
  
"I'll go help Soujiro cook" Kenshin said, and he got up and left.  
  
There was silence as Toko watched Sano munch on his fishbone, Kaoru stare at Kenshin as he left, and Yahiko still blushing.  
  
Someone poked her. "Eh?" She said as she looked around. "Oi, tell us the truth, are you and that Tenken really together?" Sano asked, his mischievous smile on his face. "EH?!?! Iie...we're just tomodachis (friends)" Toko said. Sano smirked. "Right....." Toko blushed. "Its true!!!" "Hai hai...whatever you say...." Sano said as he went back to chewing his fishbone. He could feel Toko glaring daggers at his back.  
  
"Kaoru-san?" Toko said. "What Toko-san?" Kaoru said. "Do you like Kenshin?" She asked. Kaoru blushed beet red. "Aah..well...Eto..." She stuttered. "Of course busu likes Kenshin!!" Yahiko declared, "its SO obvious!!" "N-Nani??!?!" Kaoru blushed even more. "Does Kenshin like you?" Toko asked again. "OF COURSE HE DOESNT!! Who would like busu???" Laughed Yahiko. "CALL ME BUSU AGAIN?!?!?" Kaoru and Yahiko chased each other around the house. "^_^0" Toko sweatdropped.  
  
Soujiro walked into the room carrying some yaki-udon (stir-fried noodles). Minutes later, Kenshin walked in with bowls of miso soup. Kaoru took some noodles into her plate and took a bite. "Oishii!!" She exclaimed. "Soujiro-san....you really cooked this?!?!" Yahiko managed to say as he stuffed the noodles down his throat like there was no tommorow. "Hai." Soujiro nodded with a smile.  
  
Toko sipped some of the soup. "Ah...Kenshin-san...you cooked the miso soup right? I can recognize that this isn't Soujiro's cooking." Toko remarked.  
  
"Aa. You like it de gozaru ka?" Kenshin said. "Daiisky!! (Love it)" Toko said happily.  
  
~After dinner~ "Soujiro-san, i need to speak with you" Kenshin quietly said as he walked by Soujiro. Soujiro smiled and nodded. "Can i come?" Toko asked. "Aa" Kenshin said. And the three went into Kenshin's room.  
  
"So, Soujiro, how was it being a rurouni?" Kenshin asked. "It's a lot harder than i thought." Soujiro admitted, "you're always broke, starving, and your clothes get dirty easily." Kenshin nodded with understanding.  
  
"How did you meet Toko-dono de gozaru ka?" He asked again. "Soujiro-san saved me" Toko said, her smile faltering as she remembered her stepbrothers and step uncle trying to kill her. "Did you...kill?" Kenshin said solemnly.  
  
"Hai." Soujiro said with equal tone of voice, which once again contradicted his smile. "You feel guilty." Kenshin stated, not as a question, but more like a statement. Soujiro looked down and didn't say anything.  
  
*Kenshn-san knows so much about him...* Toko thought, *does he know Soujiro's past too?*  
  
"Toko-dono, you know why he is called Tenken?" Kenshin's gaze turned to Toko. Soujiro immediately looked up. His eyes wide and pleading.  
  
*No, Kenshin, don't tell her...* Soujiro thought wildly, fearful that Toko may be scared fo him after that, losing his only friend, or worse, Toko might be disgusted that he had done so many bad deeds and never talk to him again.  
  
"I don't know." Toko said quietly, her smile never leaving her face. Kenshin nodded. "Soujiro, you should tell her, she has the right to know." Kenshin said grimly. "Lovers shouldn't hide secrets from each other. A relationship is based on trust." Kenshin continued.  
  
"EEEEEEHHHHHHHH?!?!?!??!?!?" Soujiro and Toko yelled as they fell (anime style). "Oro?" The now confused Kenshin said. "We-we're just friends." Soujiro managed to gasp out. *He...he thought we were....lovers?!?!* The dazed Soujiro thought. "Well...sessha just thought that by the way you two talked and looked at each other de gozaru yo..." Kenshin muttered, now talking like the rurouni he used to be.  
  
"We're just friends!!!! And waddaya mean by the way we talked and looked at each other?!?!" The now madly blushing Toko said. "Take that!!'  
  
"OoOoOoOoRrRrRrOoOoOoOooooooo" A swirly eyed Kenshin said as she nailed him into the wall with dozens of her mini shurikens (i just call them that...calling them 'spiky discs' got plain -_-)  
  
Kaoru, Sano, and Yahiko rushed into the room when they heard Kenshin go "Oro". "Oi, rooster head, why is Kenshin high up on the wall?" Yahiko asked Sano. Veins pop out of Sanos head. "Call me a rooster head? Yahiko- chan?!?!" He said as he punched Yahiko. "Chan ja nai yo!!" The now dizzy Yahiko managed to say while rubbing his bump on his head.  
  
"Is Kenshin all right?" Kaoru worriedly asked Toko. "Hai!" She nodded her head with a big smile. " I only got him on the sleeves.....i also shot at Soujiro-san though...." Toko looked at Soujiro....who grinned at her and held up his two hands. He caught all of her mini shurikens. "Ack...you know me too well..." Toko joked.  
  
A while later they managed to get Kenshin down and Soujiro and Toko got the mini shurikens out of Kenshin's clothes.  
  
~Much later in the night~  
  
Everyone was getting ready to go to sleep. Soujiro was nowhere to be found.  
  
"Have any of you seen Soujiro?" Toko asked, not bothering to put a suffix at the end of his name. Everyone shook their heads. *Soujiro....if you left me here....I will hunt you down and kill you.....* She thought as she ran around the dojo trying to find him. Suddenly, she appeared to hear someone humming. She walked up to a tree and looked up. She found Soujiro singing softly to himself. Tears were falling from his face and he wasn't smiling.  
  
Toko was about to ask Soujiro why he was crying, until she heard him sing. His voice, full of sorrow, but at the same time full of determination as he slowly sang  
  
(A/N: The song's called Innocence, by Soujiro's seiyuu, Hidaka Noriko...its a REALLY good song...and no..i dont own it...-_-0)  
  
Hora, abunai yo Hey, watch out Boku ni im fureta nara kireru kara Touch me and you'll get cut Kimi wa mada You're not yet Boku yori mo tsuyoku nai Stronger than me  
  
Souijiro softly sang, then he sang louder, his voice full of regret and guilt, as well as pain  
  
Aoi honoo ga ima koori no nake de The blue flame Shizuka ni moete iru yo Now silently burns inside teh ice Ah- Hohoemi wo ukabeta Ah- a smile surfaces Shounen ga hitori I can see from afar Tooku ni mieru One boy  
  
Soujiro lowered his head, and he sang softly, reliving his memories of when he killed his family, his innocence taken from him  
  
Kaze, itai ame, sakebi-goe, kireta ito, fuyu no sora Wind, painful rain, shouts, severed thread, winter skies Boku wa naze waratte'ru no? Why am i laughing? Wakaranai I dont know Nakushita yo Im just lost  
  
Soujiro once again looked up at the full moon, singing loudly again  
  
Aoi honoo ga ima koori no nake de The blue flame Shizuka ni moete iru yo Now silently burns inside teh ice Ah- Tatta hitotsu kiri no Ah- Cuz only one Kotae wo boku wa Answer Shitte iru kara Do i know  
  
Soujiro closed his eyes and let his tears fall freely down his face and he sang again  
  
Ki wo tsukete Be careful Kimi wa yowai kara ne Cuz you are weak Mou sugu boku ga Soon I Keshite ageru yo kitto Shall wipe you out surely  
  
His voice still soft, he whispered  
  
Ah- Aoi honoo ga ima koori no nake de The blue flame Shizuka ni moeru Shall now silently burn inside the ice  
  
As Soujiro wiped his tears on his sleeve, he heard clapping As he turned around, h saw a blue figure jump up and land beside him.  
  
"I never knew you could sing so well" Toko said quietly, and Soujiro noticed, she was not smiling, and her emotions shown sorrow, and pity.  
  
She leaned closer to him and whispered "I heard from Sanosuke that you had killed many people...." Soujiro flinched "but i know you dont like killing...and i'll still wander with you whereever you go" Toko said again as she leaned onto Soujiro and put her arms around him, giving him comfort.  
  
*Someone, who has never killed anyone...has excepted me and trusted me...with full knowledge that i am a killer?!* Soujiro thought in a daze. He couldnt bring himself to smile.  
  
"Sou-chan....you dont mind if i call you that do you?" Toko whispered. Soujiro shook his head, and his cheek brushed against Tokos. "I dont mind...Toko-chan" He said huskily.  
  
"You still didnt tell me about your past...." Toko said. Soujiro opened his mouth....about to tell her when....  
  
"*whistles* Toko-san...and you said you two were only friends...i knew you were lying!!" Sanosuke called to them as he whistled again.  
  
The two shocked friends were startled and they fell off the tree....and landed on Sano. "Urk!! You two are heavy...." Sano muttered, "now get off me"  
  
~ As everyone went to bed~  
  
Toko lay on her futon, *I am so confused.......feelings i never knew i had.....what are these feelings? Soujiro is just a friend neh? I can't possibly love him, i dont know how to love, since i've never felt love before....its impossible for me neh? Neh?? * She tried to convince herself.  
  
For hours she rolled around, feeling very lonely. She was used to feeling the warmth of Soujiro's body...but now..she felt like she was alone again...like when she was still with her adopted family.  
  
Toko got up and went into Soujiro's room.  
  
She saw Soujiro yelling, clawing at his face, rolling around. *He hasn't had nightmares that scary for weeks!!* She thought frantically as she rushed to him, whispering that he'll be okay and he suddenly woke up, breathing heavily as if he had been running for hours.  
  
He clung on to Toko like she was his only link to the world. He buried his face onto her shoulder.  
  
"Soujiro....you haven't had nightmares this bad in weeks....what is bothering you??" She asked him gently.  
  
Sobbing, he replied "This was the day i killed my adopted family."  
  
"What?!"She asked with concern.  
  
Soujiro told him all about his past, how his family treated him, how he met Shishio, and how he was defeated by Kenshin.  
  
Toko stroked his hair. "Sou-chan...if theres anything you could do to let your pain out...do it now...let all your pain and suffering out..." She whispered. Then...he did the unexpected.  
  
He bit her somewhere right above the collar bone...hard. "Itai!!!!!!" She yelled, "what was that for?!?!" "It normally helps for me to bite something...normally i bite my blanket or my sleeve..." Soujiro mumbled.  
  
"You bit me on the shoulder!!" She fumed. "I was aiming for your sleeve..." He said with embarassment. Toko just sighed.  
  
Recovering from his nightmare, he asked "What are you doing in my room? Toko-chan?"  
  
"I...I was too used to sleeping by you...i felt too lonely sleeping by myself." Toko admitted.  
  
Soujiro just nodded silently.  
  
Toko yawned. "So tired...go to sleep okay Soujiro?" She said. Soujiro smiled, a real smile this time, although his eyes were still a bit teary. "Hai..." *How strange...she sometimes calls me with a 'chan' and sometimes she just calls my name with no suffix at all....* He thought amusedly. That night, Soujiro had no more nightmares, just peaceful dreamless sleep.  
  
"Soujiro and Toko-san spend so much time sleeping." Yahiko complained, "they sleep longer than you do, busu"  
  
"BUSU?!?!?!" Kaoru yelled, veins popping out of her head. She was about to whack Yahiko when a hand stopped her.  
  
Kenshin held her hand and said "Why dont you go check on Toko-dono eh?" Kaoru blushed and nodded.  
  
Kaoru knocked on the door to Toko's room. "Toko-san?" Kaoru said as she opened the door....and found no one there.  
  
She rushed out, saying "Toko-san is gone!!" Everyone stood up, worried.  
  
"Im right here...Kaoru-san" Toko said, as she and Soujiro walked up to the Kenshin-gumi. "Where were you?" The worried Kaoru said. "I couldn't find you in your room"  
  
"I was...eh..." Toko smiled nervously. "She was somewhere else" Soujiro smiled. "Hai! Hai!! Sou-chan's right...i was...doing something..."Toko said. *If they find out we were sleeping together 'ERK!!' dont be a hentai.......i mean..if they found out we were sharing a bed...they'll freak out for sure!!* Toko and Soujiro thought to themselves at the same time.  
  
Sano felt someone pulling his ear...hard "What..Yahiko-chan" He grumbled angrily. "Ano..did Toko-san get a bug bite?"Yahiko whispered to Sano as he pointed to Toko's neck.  
  
A red mark visibly shown, since her collar length was extremely wide. Sano almost choked on his tea. *Could..Could it be....?? HA! I knew they were lovers.* Sano thought triumphantly, *I never knew Smiley-san (A/N: referring to Sou-chan...duh! ^_^) had it in him!!* Sano grinned.  
  
"What? Why are you staring at Toko's bug bite??" Yahiko asked impatiently. "Yahiko...its not a BUG bite....but it's definitely a bite..........." Sano laughed. "?-?" Yahiko just stared at Sano with a puzzled face. Sano just gave him a sly grin. "Ill ask them then." Yahiko grumbled, then Sano's hand clamped over Yahiko's mouth. "Dont ask them yet.." he whispered to the surprised Yahiko.  
  
"Eto....Kaoru-san?" Toko said. "Yes?" Kaoru said. "May we borrow some money to buy clothes....were broke and we only have one set of clothes....." Soujiro said nervously.  
  
"Oi...you two are starting to sound like rooster head here!!" laughed Yahiko. "Don't call me roosterhead!!" Sano muttered, giving Yahiko a big bonk on the head, giving Yahiko swirly eyes.  
  
Ignoring them, Kaoru gave them a package of yen "Here take it." Soujiro and Toko stared goggle eyed at the yen. "We..cant take that much.." Toko stammered.  
  
"Mou! Take it!!" Kaoru insisted, shoving the package into Soujiro's hands and pushing them out the dojo. "Have fun shopping!" Kaoru said merrily.  
  
Soujiro and Toko put on a big smile and went to the market. "Today was weird...Sano kept staring at me with these eyes like he knew something that i didnt..." Toko said worriedly to Soujiro.  
  
Soujiro felt suddenly very possessive of Toko for no reason at all. "If he keeps staring at you tell me and ill kill him for you" He whispered jokingly to Toko, who laughed. *That's what ill really do* Soujiro thought solemnly inside his head.  
  
Toko then spotted the perfect gi and hakama for Soujiro. It looked just like Soujiro's regular gi and hakama except it was red. (The gi is a sort of faded red 'not pink like kenshins..lol...jus joking...kenshin's gi isnt pink....but close...^_-...and his hakama is do deep red it almost looks brown.)  
  
"Sou-chan! Look!! This outfit is perfect for you!!" She said as she showed it to him. Soujiro smiled and said, "Aa, lets buy it."  
  
They couldn't find an outfit like Tokos anywhere because her clothes were foreign, so Toko bought dark red cloth to make the "dress" and even darker red cloth for her shorts. She also bought a then bought a faded red cloth to make her shirt and white for the trimming and the bow. After they finished looking at small trinkets...(A/N: er...i mean..after TOKO finished looking at all the small trinkets...while Soujiro just watched her from behind, smiling...^_^0) they headed home.  
  
Suddenly, Soujiro grabbed Toko by the arm and swept her into the shadows as another man walked into the alley. The man smoked on a cigarette. He walked past them without knowing they were there. After the man was gone, Soujiro let go of Toko.  
  
"That was the police officer Saitoh...if he finds me ill be executed for sure" He said solemnly, his smile growing bigger. Toko nodded quietly. They headed back to the Kamiya Dojo.  
  
After announcing they were back...Toko immediately said "Ill cook!!" and she raced to the kitchen.  
  
Yahiko paled. "Please don't let her cooking be as bad as busu's cooking..." He whispered before getting cracked on the head by Kaoru.  
  
~Later~  
  
Toko popped out of the kitchen. "Dinner's ready!!" She announced. Then, she looked around, her grin still on her face. "Where's Sou-chan??" She said aloud.  
  
"Oi...calling him Sou-CHAN eh?? Hhmmm...is that a code word for...lets say...'anata'?" Sano popped out of nowhere, scaring Toko.  
  
Blushing furiously, she muttered, "NO!!" and Sano found himself strapped on the ceiling, the mini shurikens pinning him down. Grumbling, Toko went to search for Soujiro.  
  
"Is he here? No here? Where is that baka!!" Toko muttered.  
  
Suddenly she smiled. "He's HERE!!" She announced. "Where?" Kaoru said densely. "Here, in the storage cabin!!" She announced.  
  
Kenshin suddenly shouted "That's not the storage cabin!! Thats the...."  
  
A screech could be heard and startled splashing came from inside the room.  
  
"Bath house" Kenshin finished...  
  
Toko came out, her face in twenty shades of red and pink.  
  
"Cheer up Toko!! It's nothing you haven't seen before!!" Sano said again, winking at her. Toko stared at Sano in shock. "What?! I told you! Hes just a TOMODACHI!!!!!" And this time Sano found himself tacked to a tree.  
  
Moments later, a VERY embarassed and flushed Soujiro came out wearing his new clothes.  
  
As she brought out the dinner, the Kenshin-gumi stared hard at Soujiro and Toko, they both has smiles on their faces, and noone could tell what they were thinking.  
  
*I am so embarassed....I must remind myself to tell Toko-chan when Im going to take a bath..or else Ill embarass myself more....that reminds me of the time when i saw Toko chan bathing in the river...i never knew her waist was so small.....!! HENTAI HENTAI Soujiro no hentai!! Stop thinking those ..."unique" thoughts.* Soujiro thought, still blushing inside.  
  
*Kami-sama...I cant believe i just saw that..although Soujiro did have great muscles and six pack abs....he always hides them when he wears his clothes....!!!! what am i thinking?!?! I shouldnt be thinking of my friend this way should i?!?!* She though shamefully.  
  
The Kenshin-gumi stared at the food. "Is the soup...supposed to be green?" Yahiko said, almost afraid to touch it. "Its not poisoned is it? Sano said, poking at the deformed lump that was supposed to be chicken.  
  
They all watched as Soujiro ate what Toko cooked as if Toko had cooked for him all his life. "Ah..Toko-chan...your food is delicious..as always..." Soujiro remarked.  
  
Everyone except Soujiro and Toko thought..."CHAN?!?!"  
  
Kenshin then took a piece of purple egg and took a bite. "Soujiro....you were right...Toko cooks very well." He said cheerfully.  
  
Everyone sweatdropped.  
  
"Kenshin always says everything tastes good..." Yahiko muttered. Then he saw Kaoru's look of determination in her eyes.  
  
*I will see once and for all if my cooking tastes better than her* Kaoru thought savagely.  
  
She grabbed the deformed chicken and took a giant bite.  
  
Her eyes widened.  
  
"Jou-chan! How is it?? Jou chan!! Wake up!!" Sano said as he waved his hands over Kaoru's widened eyes. Kaoru blinked. "It...It's so ....good....." Kaoru breathed.  
  
Sano and Yahiko stared at her. Seeing that Kaoru didnt faint or anything, they tried the food.  
  
"You're right ...it really is very good!!" Sano said, surprised.  
  
Yahiko, his mouth full of food, said "Oishii!!! Her food looks bad but tastes good...unlike busu's, whose cooking looks bad AND tastes bad"  
  
Kaoru was to busy eating to kill Yahiko.  
  
Toko beamed. "It's really that good?" She said happily. "Hai!!" Everyone said.  
  
~After dinner~ Toko came up to Kaoru. "Kaoru-san? Im going to move my stuff into Soujiro's room ok? Im going to sleep in Soujiro's room from now." She said with no emotion whatsoever except for her smile. Kaoru was surprised. *Sleep in Soujiro-kun's room?!*  
  
"O...Ok..." Kaoru stuttered out. Toko bowed and walked back to Soujiro's room. Sano walked over to Kaoru. "They must be up to something." He said.  
  
Kenshin sat in his room, his thoughts confused  
  
*flashback* He was sleeping when suddenly... Door next to him opens, then closes, and small steps rush towards something. Suddenly, ruffled noises, then tired breathing, then "ITAI!!" *end flashback*  
  
After that, it kept Kenshin awake for the rest of the night, thinking thoughts he really shouldnt.  
  
*Now...Toko's going to sleep in Soujiro's room.....but they said they werent lovers!! I dont think Soujiro was lying...and Toko-dono seemed genuinely mad when i said they were lovers.....what are they doing in there?!?! *  
  
Kenshin also remembered the red mark on Toko's neck. He shook his head....  
  
He'll try to sleep again..hopefully nothing "special" will wake him up this time.  
  
Toko snuggled a bit closer to Soujiro...it was a cold night, and they both wore sleeping robes. (A/N: I forgot what they're called...someone tell me please??). As she slept...she began to dream...she always had nightmares...everyday since her step uncle took her in...but this time...her nightmare was more torturous and evil then ever.....  
  
A/N: hhmm...i still think Toko seems too much like Misao....*grumbles*  
  
  
  
R&R NO flames!!!!! 


	4. From Nightmare to Pranks

A/N: Konnichiwa minna!!! Hhhmmmm.........yup...my angsty/violence ficcie really is turning into a humor ficcie............and they're mostly er………..."special" jokes that elementary kiddies won't get...especially this chapter…….so if you're really that young...........dont read……...but i think you ppl should be able to understand it…....  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own RK yadda yadda…..….  
  
From Nightmares to a Prank  
  
"Oi, BITCH!! How come you wasted our money and bought more rice than necessary?" Her step-uncle roared.  
Toko was trembling with fear.  
  
"Oi, uncle, she's just the bastard child from our dad....of course she's too stupid to know these things." Shiku said with a sneer.  
  
"Still, she needs to be taught a lesson." Hajita said.  
  
The four men took out bamboo sticks.  
  
Toko then ran for her life.  
"Tasukete!!!!! (Help!!) She yelled frantically. She looked back, the men were gaining on her.  
  
She ran and ran until she was running through a hill. There, she saw Soujiro.  
"SOUJIRO!! Help!!!" She cried desperately.  
Soujiro just smiled, and the more Toko ran towards him, the farther he seemed to be.  
  
He was slowly disappearing.  
"Soujiro!! Don't leave me!!!!!" She shouted.  
  
Then, Soujiro had disappeared completely. In his place was....Juro.  
  
"You're tainted" He sneered, and the four other men had caught up to her.  
"You're unpure, tainted……..you need to be gotten rid of from this world." They all said as they crept up on her.  
  
Toko covered her ears, refusing to listen.  
"YAMETE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (STOP!!)" She yelled in pain and sheer terror.  
  
"YAMETE!!!!!!!!!!! (STOP!)" Soujiro bolted from his own nightmare and sat up, startled.  
He saw Toko, shivering and crying beside him.  
She has nightmares too? He wondered.  
  
"Toko-chan.....?" Soujiro hesitantly said as he put his arms around her, like Toko did to him whenever he had a nightmare.  
"Soujiro...dont leave me.......SOUJIRO!!!!!! YAMETE!!!!!!! (Stop)" Toko said, shaking her head.  
  
Soujiro's head spun with thoughts.  
Me? Leave her? What is she thinking about?!?! Soujiro thought again.  
  
Without thinking, Soujiro bent down and bit Toko right where he bit her last time.  
Toko's eyes blinked wide open and she yelled "ITAI-yo!!!!" She was still shivering in fright from the nightmare.  
  
"There, you woke up." Soujiro said in a calm voice and his little smile.  
"Aa....arigatou...demo..... you didnt have to bite me again..." Toko complained.  
"It was the only way i could get you to wake up..." Soujiro said again with a smile.  
Toko put her head on Soujiro's shoulder.  
"Are you feeling better?" Soujiro softly said.  
"Iie..." Toko said...then.......  
  
She pulled Soujiro's sleeping robe off his shoulder, making his eyes wide as a plate (anime style!!) and she bit HIS shoulder. Soujiro winced.  
"NOW i feel better" Toko said triumphantly.  
  
Kenshin's room  
  
Kenshin was just about to doze off when.  
"SOUJIRO!!!!!!!!!" A tiny bit of shaking/rustling. (Soujiro was shaking Toko's shoulders to get her to wake up.  
"Daijobu?" came Soujiro's pained voice.  
  
Silence....  
  
Later....  
  
"Feeling better now?...." "Iie..." A bit of rustling.  
"NOW i feel better."  
  
Kenshins eyes went wide.  
  
Sou-chan and Toko's room  
  
"Oro?!"  
  
Soujiro and Toko both heard Kenshin say.  
"Was Kenshin eavesdropping on us?" Toko whispered.  
"I think so" Soujiro said cheerfully.  
Toko's eyes widened.  
  
"Kami-sama....I wonder what he was thinking...." Toko said.  
Soujro thought about what they said…..suddenly…...everything seemed…..so…....wrong.  
  
Toko seemed to have noticed too.  
  
Then she gave a mischievous grin at Soujiro.  
She tiptoed over to the wall near Kenshin and said.  
  
"Sou-chan....can you do that again?" She heard Kenshin jerk.  
  
Soujiro seemed to have go the idea. Moving near the wall next to Toko, he said cheerfully.  
"Aa...as many times as you want."  
  
This time, Kenshin seemed to roll off his futon.  
  
Toko gasped,  
"Sou-chan!!! I never knew you could do that!!" Soujiro then said,  
"And what can you do?" "Many things." "Show me"  
  
Now they heard Kenshin walk near their wall, totally eavesdropping.  
  
"Sou-chan...." Toko whispered right into the wall.  
"Toko-chan...." Soujiro did the same.  
"Sou-chan...." "Toko-chan......koishii" Soujiro said absentmindly, then froze.  
  
Did i just call her koishii?! Demo....i said it as a joke right? I was reserving that to say it to someone i loved..... He thought disappointedly, but at the same time glad. That made him confused.  
  
Toko froze. Koishii?!?! That's a bit.....over the edge...i never knew Sou-chan would be so into this little prank..... Toko thought as her heart beat faster and heat rushed to her faces.  
  
Then.  
"OrrRrOoOoOoOoooooooo......" The sound of thumping could be heard.  
  
Soujiro smiled.  
"Iku (Let's go)" He said.  
The two went and slid Kenshin's door open.  
  
They found the swirly eyed ex-rurouni fainted.  
  
Kenshin dizzily got up.  
"Toko-dono...Soujiro!!" He stuttered.  
  
"YOU EAVESDROPPER!!" The smiling Toko said and she launched what seemed like hundreds of mini shurikens at Kenshin.  
  
"That prank we pulled on you should teach you a lesson..." Soujiro commented.  
  
"Oro? Prank?" Kenshin said..still confused.  
Weren't they just doing something?? Oi...prank?? Kenshin thought.  
  
Toko walked up to Kenshin, who was still stuck on the wall.  
"Kenshin...I never knew you were such a hentai......we told you we were just friends...but you didnt believe us...and now you eavesdropped?? Tsk tsk...." Toko joked at Kenshin.  
  
"OoOrRrOoOo..." Was all Kenshin managed to stutter.  
  
Morning  
  
"Ohaiyo minna!!" Soujiro said cheerfully.  
"Ohaiyo...Eavesdropper-san" Toko winked at Kenshin.  
Kenshin flushed with embarassment.  
"Sessha didnt mean to eavesdrop" he defended.  
Toko rolled her eyes.  
  
Sano looked at Kenshin.  
Eavesdropping? HIM?? Sano thought amazedly.  
  
Then.  
"OHAIYO!!" Kaoru walked out of the room.  
Then she noticed Kenshin blushing. "Eh? Kenshin...are you sick...you seem awfully red...." She said worriedly.  
  
Kenshin blinked.  
He blinked again.  
"Sessha has something to do in the kitchen de gozaru yo" He hurriedly said as he ran to the kitchen.  
  
Kaoru looked at the rest of the people with confused eyes.  
She saw Yahiko's confused face, Sano's snickering face, and as usual, Soujiro's and Toko's smile.  
  
Later  
  
"Breakfast is served, de gozaru" Kenshin announced as he brought the food over.  
"Kenshin-san...." Toko said slyly as she walked behind Soujiro and leaned on his back. She winked at Kenshin.  
Soujiro just kept smiling and eating as Kenshin fainted.  
  
"Ma, ma......Toko-chan…....you should stop teasing Kenshin-san….fainting so much isn't good for him" Soujiro said cheerfuly, although his grin seemed bigger than usual and he was choking down a laugh.  
  
"Mou!! It's so fun though!" Toko retorted jokingly.  
The rest of the Kenshin-gumi just looked at them with blank faces.  
Toko and Soujiro burst out laughing ......then........  
  
"Oi, Toko-san, Soujiro-kun....what are those red marks on your necks??" Kaoru asked.  
Soujiro was still dressed in his sleeping robe, as he was going to take a bath right after he ate, and Toko was wearing her usual strange clothes.  
  
Sanosuke choked on his rice.  
Toko and Soujiro both had red marks on their left shoulders.  
  
"What kind of bug bit you?" Yahiko said worriedly.  
  
Sano then said "Its not a bug bite"  
  
"What is it?" Kaoru questioned.  
  
"Hmm..this is what the foreigners call it...a "Love bite" (In japanese they say something liek Luv-u bite-o or sumthin...too hard to spell out...)"  
  
"EH???????????" Everyone yelled as Soujiro and Toko fell to the floor.  
"ITS NOT A LOVE BITE!!!!" Toko said angrily, bonking Sano on the head with the hilt of her dagger, though her smile remained on her face.  
  
"What's a love bite?" Yahiko asked.  
"I'll tell you when you're older." Kaoru said amazedly.  
So that's why Toko wanted to stay in Soujiro's room....  
  
Then, Soujiro said "Kaoru-san, Toko-chan and I are going to move to the empty room next to our room ok? Kenshin seems to be…....disturbed when we are around." Soujiro said cheerfully.  
  
Kenshin choked.  
  
Kaoru looked confused, but she said.  
"ok..."  
  
Kaoru-san is so much like Yumi-san....Although Kaoru-san is a bit more immature and childish, as well as more violent and energetic...she still cares for me like Yumi-san did....like the mother or sister i never had... Soujiro though wistfully, reminding himself of how much he wanted a real family.  
  
Soujiro then looked at Toko.  
I guess Toko-chan can be my sister too....but for some reason......it feels so wrong........like she should be someone else in my life....not just a sister......... He thought confusedly.  
  
Then a memory popped out of his mind  
  
koishii....... Soujiro blinked, and shook his head.  
When he looked up, he saw everyone staring at him.  
  
"Na........nani-ka??" He said in his chibi form with a cute lil smile on his face.  
I could've sworn i just heard him mouth 'koishii' to himself Kaoru observed.  
  
Kaoru walked up to Soujiro.  
"Oi....Soujiro-kun..........really....how did you get that red mark though....." She asked.  
  
Now Toko and Soujiro froze.  
"Red...mark on the neck?? Eh........................" Toko said with a sweatdrop.  
She looked at Soujiro's neck...and the mark was there.  
She pressed down gently on the mark.  
  
Soujiro winced, but tried to make it look like he was just laughing really hard.  
  
For once that didnt fool anyone.  
  
Soujiro then stood up.  
  
"Im going to take a bath" He announced as he hurriedly put his dishes into the kitchen and ran to the bath house.  
  
"Im going to finish making my new clothes" Toko said right after Soujiro left.  
  
"They are SO up to something" grinned Sanosuke.  
Kenshin just said..."Oro?"  
  
Toko began to move her and Soujiro's stuff to her old room.  
They didnt have that much stuff, so it took her less than half an hour to move everything.  
  
Then she sat down and began thinking.  
Why did i get embarassed when Kaoru-san and the others were talking about me and Soujiro? I cant possibly love him.....if i did....then i could never tell him. It might ruin our friendship and he's the only friend i have......  
  
Suddenly, she heard voices.  
She walked out and saw a man smoking a cigarette.  
  
Hes the police officer Soujiro and I saw when we went to the market!!  
  
"Battousai, i need to speak with you" Saito said calmly.  
"what is it, Saitoh......" Kenshin said, his eyes narrowed.  
  
"It's about that fugitive, Tenken." Saito said again.  
Toko's eyes widened.  
  
"He's been spotted around Tokyo, and i want you to catch him and bring him back to the police so he can be properly tried and executed." Saito continued.  
"What do you mean executed?!? Soujiro's changed!! He's not like he used to be!!" Toko blurted out.  
  
Saitoh's gaze turned from Kenshin to her.  
  
"And who may you be......." Saito said, he then thought, (with the little thought bubble when he first saw Misao)  
MegumiFox KaoruRaccoon MisaoWeasel This new girl....................  
  
"Chipmunk" He said thoughtfully.  
  
Veins popped out of Toko's head as she gave him a scary smile.  
"Chi.....Chipmunk?!?!" She said eerily at Saitoh, giving him shivers.  
  
"Her name is Toko-dono de gozaru yo " Kenshin replied, going between them and popping their glaring contest.  
  
"Chipmunk, Toko-san, same thing...." Saito replied, ignoring Toko's glares, "Anyway, what do you know about Tenken no Soujiro?"  
  
"He's a lot better than you" Toko's teeth gritted.  
"Answer my question. What is your relationship between you and Tenken." Saito said seriously.  
  
Toko looked away and refused to answer, hatred burning through her eyes, but her smile still on her face.  
  
Her fist was clenched tightly, so tightly her fists were shaking. Everyone watched as she struggled to unclench them.  
Her hair shielded her face, so noone knew what was going on.  
Suddenly, Toko looked up.  
  
Her face was bright and smiling. Her tone was cheery as she said "I have to go somewhere, minna, ja...." she bowed as she practically skipped out of the dojo, humming like a carefree girl.  
  
Everyone's eyes were wide with surprise at Toko's sudden change of atittude.  
"She's very.....polite and happy today....." Yahiko stated.  
"She's just like him. Like Tenken......." Saito murmured.  
Hiding their emotions under a smile, becoming even happier than before after almost having their emotions broken, so happy one cannot tell what emotions are going on through their eyes Saito thought with narrowed eyes, what is her relationship with Tenken, i must find out.  
  
Toko skipped to the side of the dojo, then hopped up the wall and climbed back in.  
She then curled herself up near a tree and started crying.  
She sobbed in frustration.  
Kuso....that man keeps insulting Soujiro like that, he doesn't know that Soujiro has changed, he doesn't know that Soujiro and I are tormented by nightmares each night. He doesn't know anything, yet he is still accusing Soujiro of cold blooded murder and acting like he knows it all  
  
Suddenly, she tensed as someone placed a hand on her shoulder.  
"Daijobu, Toko-chan?" A soothing and familiar voice asked.  
  
Toko relaxed her shoulders and put a smile on her face, even though she was still crying.  
  
Soujiro had just walked out of the bathhouse when he heard crying. He heard it come from behind a tree. Looking behind the tree, he saw a familiar figure, sobbing. His face clouded over with worry and concern for a second before being replaced with a smile.  
  
He placed a hand on her shoulder, awkwardly trying to comfort her. His heart wrenched with pain and sorrow as he saw her tense. "Daijobu, Toko-chan?" He said softly, not knowing what else to say.  
  
Toko looked up and she relaxed.  
"Daijobu. Sou-chan." She said with a smile, even though her face was streaked with tears.  
  
"Then why are you crying?" He asked.  
He sat knelt down in front of her, putting both hands on her shoulders, looking her in the eye.  
  
Something must be really troubling her........ he thought, I have never seen her emotions look this concealed before  
"I.............I was just.........." Toko was speechless.  
  
She wanted to say "I was just so happy to have you as my friend" but she couldnt bring herself to lie. She couldnt lie to him.  
I am happy that he is my friend.......but that wasn't why i was crying..... She thought.  
  
She couldnt think of anything to do, so she suddenly fell towards him and gave him a big hug.  
He was apparently surprised, but he slowly and unsurely put his arms around her.  
"What was that for?" The smiling rurouni asked.  
Toko kept her arms around him, and said,  
"Metsuni...(Nothing.....)" She put her head on his shoulder, and leaned closer to him to cry over his shoulder, making sure her tears dropped on the ground and not on his gi.  
  
Soujiro just embraced her patiently as she silently sobbed.  
He was aware that she was crying, he could feel her shoulders tremble.  
What happened? He thought.  
  
Later  
  
Toko had felt better after crying and now just closed her eyes, feeling comfort by being next her friend.  
Reluctant to let go, but she did anyway, she stood up.  
Soujiro just stood up next to her, looking at her, as if asking her what she wanted to do now.  
  
"Let's go to the market" Toko declared.  
Putting on an even bigger smile she grabbed Soujiro's hand and quickly dragged him out the dojo, making sure Saito wasn't there.  
  
Meanwhile  
  
"Battousai, i want you to find out the relationship between the chipmunk and Tenken." Saito said.  
"Chotto matte!! (wait...) Why do you want to find out anyway??" Kaoru demanded angrly.  
"Tanuki...(raccoon) you stay out of this" Saitoh gravely said.  
Kaoru had several veins pop on her head as Sanosuke and Yahiko held on to her to prevent her from attempting to kill Saitoh with a tea kettle.  
  
"Let me inform you on what Tenken had been accused of. Villagers had stated that he had killed and murdered many these years......bloody bodies, often headless or decapitated, were found everywhere. All the witnesses claimed it was done by a smiling boy." Saitoh continued, "I will send someone over tommorow to make sure you do your job."  
  
And with that, he left.  
"That giant pain in the........"Sano gritted his teeth.  
Saitoh turned around.  
"Oi, aho (moron) I heard that." And he continued walking.  
Veins popped out of Sano's head.  
"AHO?!?!? AHO JA NAI YOU ANTENNA MAN!! (A/N: referring to Saitoh's hair er...wats left of his bangs...i saw it in a "kenshin outtake" once...it was funni...)  
  
Saitoh ignored him and walked out of the dojo.  
  
2 hours later  
  
"WAI! KAWAII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Toko squealed as she went to each and every one of the stalls, eyes shining as she looked at shiny trinkets.  
  
Soujiro followed her with his normal smiling face.  
But inside, he was in turmoil.  
I know Toko is just acting, I've done that myself.......the more emotional i become, the happier i get to cover it up. Soujiro thought. what happened while i was gone?!? She won't tell me.....  
  
Toko was staring at a pretty pin with little beads and a glass flower. The man said it was a rare and beatiful pin made in a place called China (A/N:Don't know if China was there back then....im just sticking things in so they make sense.......0)  
  
She thought to herself, while pretended to look at more pins Should i tell Soujiro about what Saitoh said? I want to.....but im scared my emotions might break down........I know that he's worried, he may be smiling, but he's tense......  
  
She finished looking at all the stalls.  
  
She skipped back to Soujiro, suddenly becoming a hyper, happy-go-lucky girl (A/N: kind of like Misao?? Lol....)  
  
"Where to now?" She asked Soujiro.  
Soujiro was about to reply when.............  
  
"Toko-san!! Soujiro-san!!!!!" They both turned around and saw Yahiko running at them.  
"There you are!! I found you guys!! We thought you probably left or something........." Yahiko said breathlessly from running to much.  
  
"Is.........Is Saitoh gone?" Toko hesitantly asked. Her too-cheerful smile faltering just a bit, so short of a time that noone but someone like her would notice. Soujiro noticed.  
He was surprised.  
  
Saitoh?! What did he do to her to make her this.....emotionally upset......what did he do to make her bottle up all her emotions so strongly?! Temme.......if i find out you've been harming Toko-chan.....you'll die......... Soujiro thought to Saitoh, his head tilted down so noone could see his mad glare.  
  
"He's gone. Lets go back" Yahiko said. Just as he turned around, he was knocked over by a girl.  
"Itai........" The girl commented. She clutched a small pouch of money in her hands. She had blonde hair and blue eyes that flickered green........like a green fire twisting to the wind in a clear blue sky. She was about Yahiko's age.  
  
"GAKI!! (brat) GET BACK HERE WITH MY MONEY!!!!" Angry voices shouted.  
The girl scrambled up and ran.  
Soujiro, Yahiko, and Toko followed.  
  
The followed them into a street with the reputation of many cutthroats and robbers. The girl ducked behind a door.  
  
"Boss, please help me...........i got the money like you wanted me to.........demo......the men are chasing after me!!!!!" The girl pleaded.  
  
"The Boss" frowned.  
"AHO!! You just lead them into our hideaway!!" The gang member snarled.  
  
The men rushed into the room.  
"You'll get your punishment later" The 'boss' sneered at the girl.  
  
He walked up to the men.  
"Good day, gentlemen." He smiled.  
"GIVE ME MY MONEY BACK" the 'gentleman' yelled.  
"I cant do that" 'boss' said.  
He snapped his fingers and 10 big looking guys came.  
The 'gentlemen' yelped but before they could run out of the house their necks were snapped like twigs.  
  
"Now......Hikari.....what did i tell you? Never let ANYONE find our hideaway? Do we have to brand those words on you? Hmm?" The 'boss' viciously said as he kicked the Hikari.  
  
The girl whimpered and tried to back away. She glared at them.  
"Hiro-san (A/N: HA! That's my cousins name!! Too bad hes a bad guy in my ficcie....).....how much more did my father owe you?" She spat out.  
  
The two figures and the little kid peered through a hole in the wall, watching the scene.  
That Hikari.......she's being forced to pick pocket too.......just like me!!! Yahiko remembered as his memory of his "pickpocketting days" came to a close thanks to Kenshin.  
  
"He owes us a lot more......." Hiro-san grinned. (A/N: i feel so sorry for my cousin.....hes a nice guy.....didnt mean to put him as a villain...but i ran out of names.......0)  
  
"URUSAI! (er..shut up...i cant spell....T-T)" A voice shouted.  
  
The men looked at the door. There stood a young spiky haired boy.  
He's the one i ran into !! Hikari thought.  
  
"Yahiko-kun!!!" Toko said desperately to stop him as Yahiko boldly stood up and challenged the gang.  
  
"If i....If i beat all of you, will you let go of the girl?" Yahiko said savagely.  
  
"You ?? Beat us??" One of the men sneered.  
  
"We'll use bokkens." Yahiko said, drawing his out.  
  
Hiro nodded.  
"Agreed."  
  
One of the men ran up to Yahiko, and Yahiko prepared to block, when suddenly, his eyes shot wide open.  
  
The man had stripped off the wood cover of the "bokken" and it revealed a long and sharp metal blade.  
  
"We lied." Hiro said nonchalantly.  
  
The man slashed Yahiko's bokken in half and kicked him down.  
  
"You....cheaters" Yahiko said in disgust.  
  
"So??" The man laughed, then suddenly his eyes bulged and he started bleeding through the mouth.  
"N...nani??" He said in surprise as he saw a blade come out from his chest.  
  
He grunted and died as the blade twisted and savagely tore out of him.  
  
As the man fell down, there the gang members saw a young boy, with a young girl next to him. They both wore polite little smiles.  
  
"Temme (You bastard 'in a bad way').............you killed one of my men. I'll have to teach you a lesson." Hiro yelled angrily.  
  
The men lunged at the two "genki" (happy) (A/N: ...eto.....they're not really that happy.....hence the quotations) people.  
  
Soujiro immediately sprung into action, hacking at the men, but for some reason, the men kept moving towards the back of the room, as if retreating. Once they were in the very back of the room, blocked Soujiro from going back to the front of the room.  
  
"You fell right into my trap, boy." Hiro laughed, "look what happened to your friend."  
  
He pointed at Toko.  
  
Yahiko had gotten Hikari and they had ran out of the dojo, but Toko.......  
  
She was surrounded into a corner, and she was unable to use her mini shurikens because she was too close to the target and the shurikens wouldnt gain enough speed to cut through flesh. She had her straight sword and dagger out, but against the big humongous muscular men, her weak strength couldn't do much.  
  
Soujiro's eyes widened. "TOKO!!!!!" he shouted, forgetting all suffixes.  
His voice was torn with desperation and pain as the men pounced on him, covering his view from what was happening to Toko.  
  
Toko was surrounded by the group of smelly guys. She wrinkled her nose in distaste.  
Alcoholics... She thought disgustedly.  
  
She was bleeding in some places, as she was totally outnumbered from 5 to 1.  
  
"Let's have some fun with her." A man suggested.  
"What about the boy she was with?" Another man asked.  
"He's probably dead by now" Someone assured.  
Then Toko had an idea, she was happy she decided to attach steel blade tips to her waragi (japanese sandal things). She front sweeped, cutting many of the men's ankles. After yelling several profanities, the men took a step back. Then, using her leg strength and flexibility, she kicked several other in the shin, gashing them. She did a handspring and the blades on her feet slightly made a gash from a man's stomach to his chin. He stumbled down.  
  
Unfortunately, Toko was beginning to tire, she can't keep using her feet to fight..............  
  
Soujiro was mad. He was beyond the point of sanity.  
For some reason, after he saw Toko cornered, something inside him snapped.  
A feeling of possessiveness and concern broke through his smile.  
  
His pupils dilated as he staggered back, holding his head for a moment.  
The men looked at him, not knowing what was going on.  
  
Soujiro was not smiling now. He was glaring, with hard, cold eyes as he said in a deadly voice,  
"I will kill you all now, there will be no mercy. My Shun Ten Satsu will kill all of you immediately. You won't even know you're dead."  
  
Some men laughed nervously, obviusly scared by his tone, others backed away warily, then they all suddenly attacked all at once.  
  
The massacre began.  
The men made a dive for Soujiro, then all of the sudden, he wasn't there anymore. The men looked around in confusion , the in horror as one of their men made a guttural scream as he was brutally sliced in half. Another man screamed as he looked down and noticed his leg was missing, a few milliseconds later, that man's head was gone too.  
  
All of the men looked around in fear.  
  
"It's a ghost!! A vengeful mononoke!!!" They screamed.  
  
"No!! It's a youkai (demon!!)" Another yelled. They ran, trying to get out of the house.  
  
One man who was running suddenly had his face gouged out by a blade, then another man had his brains splattered on the floor. (A/N: EeEeEeEeWwWw...im grossing myself out while typing this....)  
  
The men's limbs were flying everywhere.  
  
Hiro backed away from the cyclone of blood.  
  
He stumbled and his hand landed on something.....warm.  
He looked down and saw a man's head staring back at him in fright.  
  
"AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!" he screamed.  
  
He shut his eyes tightly, then opened them.  
He saw the room painted with blood, some parts of the floor decorated with limbs, bones, and intestines.  
  
He saw another figure, looking down on him.  
  
"Please.......spare me......anything you want.....anything...." Hiro blubbered.  
Soujiro lowered his sword, his nihontou nicking the mans neck.  
  
"what.....are you" Hiro asked frighteningly.  
  
"Someone you shoudlnt have messed with" The infuriated boy said stonily.  
Hiro just stared at him as Soujiro turned around.  
  
Hiro stayed there for a few seconds, before his body fell to perfectly cut pieces. (A/N: EEEWWWWW!!! Gross gross gross gross.....oish..i got that from resident evil 1...you know..when the lasers cut the guy to pieces? Eeeeww...i am scaring myself....O.o)  
  
Toko was breathing hard, she was too weak...the only thing she could do now is block and defend herself from being beaten. A man lunged at her, she closed her eyes and blocked with her hands. This might be it....I'm going to die She thought fearfully.  
  
Then something hit her hand. It was..............a finger.......a decapitated bloody finger.  
Toko looked up. The man who had been lunging at her was nowhere to be seen. Only a splash of blood on the ceiling told her what had happened to the man.  
  
She looked around her, horrified.  
  
There were bits and pieces of bodies everywhere....several heads there, a limb here, bones there....unidentifiable deformed chunks of flesh......blood.......  
  
The stench..............  
  
The room reeked of it….....  
  
Her breathing was faster than before, the room started to spin..............  
  
She fainted just as a swirly of bloody blue caught her.  
  
She turned her head away.  
The stench of blood She thought again right before she totally blacked out.  
  
Soujiro saw Toko look around, her breathing becoming abnormal, she looked like she was about to panic. Her pupils dilated and she seemed to be suffocating, as if trying to block noxious gas. Her smile was not there. She swayed, then fell.  
  
Soujiro used Shukuchi to catch her. Toko automatically turned her head away from him.  
  
He carried her out of the room. Using Shukuchi again. He ran until he saw a a stream. He placed her under the shade of a tree. He sat down.  
  
He still wasn't smiling.  
Suddenly, a light broke upon his face as he had just realized what he had just done. He remembered with gruesome detail as he killed each and every one of the men there with no mercy. Even as they went on their knees and begged.  
  
The lives he had taken seemed to weigh heavily upon him just then.  
His guilt was suffocating him.  
  
He stared at his hands and his nihontou. They were red with blood and the stench began to take him over.  
  
He remembered the day he killed his family.....the day he lost his innocence.  
  
There was so much blood.....but now......there was more blood....  
  
He grabbed his head, walking backwards in circles, he banged his head back on a tree.  
  
What have i done?? He muttered to himself.  
  
Without thinking, he jumped into the stream.  
  
Must clean the blood off...too much blood..... he thought madly, scrubbing himself everywhere.  
He scrubbed his clothes, his face, his hair...........  
  
Everything looks clean.....but the stench......the stench of blood is still there...i still feel the wetness of the blood on my hands He though in a daze.  
Must keep, scrubbing  
  
A/N: That's it for now!! YAWN......so sleepy.....i'm waiting for Ragnarok since the server is down.....but itll be up at 3am......but its only 1:30 and im already so sleepy......yawn Thats what i get for waking up too early.......sigh  
  
Uh oh.......Sou-chan is turning mad........what now what now?? Stay tuned!! Hehehehehe I feel like im doing a commercial........0  
  
R&R!  
NO FLAMES!! You dun like.....you go away......keep your nasty and mean comments to yourself. 


	5. Don't Care

A/N: Im back again!!!!! Sorry i haven't updated for so long...My wrists started hurting really bad and i had to stop typing for a while or else i'd have to get surgery to fix my veins or something. But anyway, I've decided to make these chappies shorter so my wrists won't hurt as much and it might help the formatting.  
  
Disclaimer: i dont own RK yaddi yaddi yadda  
  
Phruit: oi....CALM...so many comments....^^;;.....i personally think Misao is a very unique character.....but i didnt want this ficcie to end up being a soujiro+misao ficcie and i wanted my character to be different from other RK characters......and thankies for the yukata info......im saved!! ^______^ and cook...cooker....i like saying cooker....^^ yes i am weird.....er....the AN notes werent disrupting the sentences.....but after i uploaded the ficcie to ff.net....my formatting went crazy!! So once again...sorry for teh formatting!! The whole thing just messes up I upload the chapter....and......art? ascii art? Eh??? *no idea wat phruit talking bout* if your talking about the piccie in chapter one.....its not ascii art......i got it from a ragnarok website....i didnt draw it myself or anything like that....  
  
Linda velasquez: hmm...katanas? I thought those were swords.....^_^0 but anyhooo....thankies for your comments! ^^  
  
????: im writing im writing!! *hurries up and type* i might not be able to make as many chappies because of.........skool -_- i got tough teachers this year...(EVIL EVIL EVIL TEACHERS) ^_______^0  
  
AN: some advice....to make the ficcie seem.......more emotional.....listen to sad music like... Frozen - Madonna Or slow music...eh...sorta...like these:  
  
Gravity of Love - Enigma Silence - Sarah McLachlan  
  
"Don't Care"  
  
Toko woke up, her thoughts full of blood. She had a piercing headache and she took several deep breaths. *Did.....did Sou-chan just.........do that?* Toko wondered, still thinking about the massacre. *He was......no.....he seemed......merciless....cruel.....unforgiving......and....and his eyes.......so....cold....unreal.....his thoughts......hidden somewhere deep within him......* "Was that why he was feared by others? How he got the reputation of a guiltless killer? No...it can't be....the other times he fought.....he was smiling......but this time.....his mouth was turned down, in revenge? Hate? What had caused him to be so worked up?" She thought aloud. She washed up by the stream, and walked, following the path of the stream.  
  
Suddenly, she heard mumbling. No, it was wailing. Anguished cries, full of guilt, remorse, and regret. There was something very familiar about that voice...... Toko gasped. As she walked closer to the sound, she noticed a hunched blue form, huddled in the stream. *SOU-CHAN!!* Her mind screamed.  
  
She splashed across the stream towards her friend, and placed her arms around him, hoping to comfort him. Soujiro just whimpered and pulled away, his face in a strange mask. *The mask he wears, it is....different.....he still has a smile, but it has changed......* Toko thought distractedly. (AN: think when Shishio was about to kill Soujiro as a child.....Soujiro had dat creepy laugh....) Soujiro's eyes were widened and his pupils dilated to a mere line. He was taking ragged breaths as he sobbed, ducking himself into the stream from time to time, as if to wash away something hidden on him.  
  
"Soujiro!! Daijobu??" Toko said frantically. She walked towards him again. Soujiro backed away. "Chi...chi!!! All of the blood!! I cant wash it away....go away go away!!" Soujiro said in a strangled yell.  
  
(i think 'chi' means blood....cuz i was watching 'Spirited Away' by the Totoro director...and the girl Sen said 'Chi' and the subtitles said "blood")  
  
"Sou.....chan" Toko said, her eyes widening in realization. *He has been on the brink of insanity for years....all of the killing, starting from his childhood, till now, has been building in guilt inside of him, he had been holding it in....and it has been pushing him to insanity.....this massacre.....might have pushed him over the edge......*  
  
Soujiro once again dunked himself into the water.... Toko watched him, waiting for him to resurface. Time passed....Soujiro still hadn't gone up. Toko, panic rising within her, reached over to where he had dunked himself. She fished around until she felt the collar of his shirt. She used all her strength and pulled him up. Struggling, and almost unconscious, Soujiro weakly cried out "Let me go!!" "Naze?" Toko demanded. "I dont deserve to live anymore! I dont want to live anymore!! I've got nothing left but my guilt and all of the blood!!"  
  
Toko's eyes widened. *Don't.....Don't I count as someone? Wasn't I someone that you had left?* She thought as she winced in pain. Her heart seemed to shatter in a thousand little shards.  
  
Toko slapped him, with all her strength. Soujiro toppled back into the water, his eyes widening and his hand on the red mark on his cheek. "DONT YOU DARE SAY YOU HAVE NO ONE LEFT! DON'T I COUNT AS SOMEONE?!" Toko yelled, in tears. She took a deep breath, calming herself. "If you go, I won't have anyone left, and I will never forgive you. I will track you down to hell" Toko seethed.  
  
Soujiro was silent; hand still on his cheek. He just looked at the water, in deep thought. He wasnt smiling, but then again, Toko wasn't either. They had both tossed their masks away when they were yelling.  
  
*He....doesnt count me as anyone? Does he even care?* Toko wondered with resentment. *Could it be.....he was acting the whole time? He never cared about me.....maybe I was just a nuisance the whole time....* Toko's heart seemed to be ripped away from her; hidden emotional scars reopening.  
  
"So....you're just like him." She said grimly over the silence. Soujiro looked up. *Him?* Toko gave another eery laugh. "Heh, I should've known not to trust anyone.....I should've learned my lesson then....but your act was too convincing." Toko started to walk back towards land. (AN: She was still in the stream with Soujiro) She suddenly stopped. "Seta-san, I hope we will never meet again, for next time, one of us will die. I will kill you, or die trying." Toko said coldly, she then walked away.  
  
For what seemed like hours, Soujiro stared into the depths of the swirling water. The trees swaying, leaves rustling, a gurgling stream, birds happily chirping........... *How ironic* Soujiro laughed mentally, *that with all of the beauty of nature today, this had to happen*  
  
Toko's words, and her slap had woke him up. He had been in a tortured dream, full of blood and killing, until he felt the slap and heard her screaming. It was too late to take back what he had said. (AN: Soujiro was insane...until Toko slapped him....soemthing like that ^^;;)  
  
Now he truly had noone/nothing left. His one and only friend was gone. Still wondering if he should kill himself or not, Soujiro decided against it. *Before Toko left, she hadnt wanted me to die......I might as well respect her last wish when she was still my friend.....* He thought tiredly as he slowly walked back to the Kamiya Dojo.  
  
~Kamiya Dojo~  
  
A worried Yahiko saw the dripping young man come through the doors of the dojo. "MEGUMI!!! Soujiro's back!!!" Yahiko yelled. Megumi came rushing out, ready to tend his wounds. "Soujiro-san!! How did you get so wet?" Megumi cried as she walked over to Soujiro, ready to look for wounds.  
  
Soujiro brushed her aside. "I am not hurt." He said hoarsely. *Liar......you are hurt......but not physically.....my heart seems torn to pieces........like a part of me has left.......I....for the first time since Shishio took me in..........feel alone....* He thought to himself.  
  
"Where is Toko?" He asked. (AN: i didnt want to say 'where is toko' in japanese otherwise it would be soemthing like 'toko doko desuka?' ......that sounded weird......it rhymes!! ^_^0) "Toko? I didnt see her come in...." Megumi said hesitantly. Soujiro rushed to his room, as he flung open the door, he saw that his room had a wet water trail coming from the window. Toko's clothes and stuff were gone.  
  
Megumi and Yahiko stared as Soujiro ran to his room. Yahiko looked at Megumi. "Megumi......is that really Soujiro?" Yahiko stuttered. "I...think so.....but without his smile....he seems so different....." Megumi said quietly. "Something has happened to them." "Them?" Yahiko said with his confused expression. "Soujiro and Toko.....what happened?" Megumi whispered to the sky.  
  
~1 day later~ "I am leaving." Soujiro announced with a slight smile. Ever since yesterday, Soujiro had not been able to smile.....his widest grin was just a slight smile. His eyes without emotion, without life, he bowed and left. "Matte..." Kaoru cried out. Soujiro ignored her and slowly stumbled out of the dojo. Kenshin said nothing, his eyes narrowed.  
  
Soujiro walked through a dark alley, making his way to the next town. Keeping his slight smile, his dark eyes, now without the innocent sparkle, narrowed. "Come out" He said solemnly, his tone and his eyes contradicting his soft smile.  
  
The figure walked out from behind the shadows. "Soujiro, what happened." The figure half-demanded half-asked. "Nandemonai" Soujiro said stubbornly. "Tell me" The figure commanded, his dark violet eyes narrowing. "I see through your eyes......that something had emotionally caused a deep and fatal blow to your soul. You are hurt and tormented, deep inside." The figure said again, his voice getting deeper.  
  
Soujiro gave a harsh laugh. "Shishio was right....your technique to see peoples emotions......but unfortunately, what has happened has nothing to do with you, Battousai." Kenshin stepped into the light. "Where is Toko?" "Wakaranai (I dont know).......but next time we meet.....I will die." Soujiro said. His voice dripped with hurt and regret......even more than when he admitted he cared about everyone he killed......and more soul shattering than when he was yelling "help" in teh raining sky teh day his family tried to kill him. What was left of his smile slowly disappeared. *Next time we meet.......I know I will die.......because....I know that no matter what happens......I cannot hurt her.......*  
  
*I....I can't let down my barrier......I cant let him see my emotions.........he will know how i feel......I dont want anyone to know how i feel.....except for the one who has been through horrors like me.......except for the one who has been there by my side......except for the one i have hurt........except for Toko* He thought miserably.  
  
With a heart wrenching sob, Soujiro used Shukuchi and ran past Kenshin. He ran out of town, he ran until he was too tired to even stand. He collapsed on the ground, in a quiet meadow with noone around him for miles. There he sobbed, sobbed until he had no more tears.  
  
Kenshin stood in the alley, thinking. *Soujiro seemed so......conflicted......he said he would die the next time he met Toko....what did it mean?*  
  
~2 months later~ ~Kamiya Dojo~  
  
"BUSU BUSU!!!" Teased Yahiko. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT YOU BRAT!!" screeched Kaoru as she chased him around. "Maa, maa" Kenshin said with a slight sweatdrop as he tried to calm down the two.  
  
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Kenshin opened the door. There, a familiar figure stood. She was in foreign, but asian clothing, and her long hair was twined in a long ponytail that swirled around her, like a long writhing dragon.  
  
"Long time no see, Kenshin" The girl said as she looked up at him. Kenshin stood for a while, unable to say anything when....... Kaoru and Yahiko popped out. "Whose at the door?" Kaoru asked. Her eyes lit up. "AH! TOKO!! I haven't seen you in a while!!" "I can't wait to eat whatever you cook this time Toko!!" Yahiko yelled happily. "Oro....come in" Kenshin said as he ushered the girl into the dojo. Toko hadn't changed so much in the past three months.....physically she was still the same...but emotionally......she was an entirely different person.  
  
"Toko!! Where Sou- *mmph!!*" Kenshins hand clamped over Kaoru's mouth as he smiled and directed Toko to her room. He directed her to Soujiro's old room. Toko took the room next to it. "If you need anything.....just call out" Kenshin said. "Hai....arigatou" Toko said quietly, her smile not reaching her eyes.  
  
Toko's eyes, once alive with passion, innocence, and life, was now dull and hardened. Kenshin bowed and left. Halfway across the hall he was attacked by a giant frying pan. "OROOOoooooooooooooo" Kenshin gurgled as he lay on teh floor, twitching. "KENSHIN!! Why did you stop me from asking Toko about Sou-kun?!" Kaoru demanded. "Now that i think about it.....Toko seems changed....shes more quiet and reserved....." Yahiko wondered aloud. "She has been training." Interrupted Kenshin. Two pairs of eyes stared at him, beggin for an explanation.  
  
"She has been training emotionally.....hardening and not allowing anyone to see through her anymore. She had been emotionally hurt.....and she is determined not to let it happen again." Kenshin said seriously. "So something happened between them......." Kaoru said understandingly....  
  
"They broke up" The 3 pairs of eyes looks up and saw.......Sano, casually munching on a fish bone. "What do you mean?" Yahiko asked confusingly. "Young children shouldnt know about these things yet!" Kaoru said authoratively. "Im not a child...busu!!" Yahiko said angrily, earning a bump on his head from Kaoru's bokken.  
  
"Anyway......see.....Toko and Soujiro were probably having an affair.....and then Soujiro or Toko's ex found out.....and then they ran away......then they came here and then......!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sano managed to stutter before a hand came up and punched him hard on the side of his head, knocking him unconscious.  
  
"Temme...(bastard)....dont make up stories.....especially with *him* in it" Toko seethed, with an eery but grim smile. Anyone would've thought that Toko hated Soujiro....but Kenshin.....experienced in reading emotions........saw a flicker of......sadness? hurt? But definitely..........betrayal.  
  
The kenshingumi was silent as she walked past them. The silence was disrupted as a laughing blonde girl bumped into Toko. Hikari rubbed her head and looked up, her eyes widening with recognition. "O!! You're that nice lady that saved me from Hiro!!" Hikari squealed as she jumped up and hugged the startled Toko. "Arigatou arigatou arigatou" Hikari said over and over again.  
  
Toko's cold face took on a different mask. This mask was warm, smiling, and friendly. She seemed like her old self again, but her eyes were still dull, hardened, and emotionless. "So you live here now?" Toko said kindly. "Iie.....I live with Tsubame and Tae and I work at the Akabeko!!" Hikari said cheerfully. "Im just here to see my Yahiko-chan!!" She said again, attaching herself to Yahiko. "Oi....first Megumi to Kenshin.....now Hikari to Yahiko?" Toko said amusedly.  
  
Still shocked by the sudden change in Toko's face, the Kenshingumi just stared, except for Yahiko....who was busy trying to yank Hikari off him. "HIKARI!!!" Tsubame said as she rushed in. "Hikari!! Where are yo...EEP!!" Tsubame gasped at the sight of Hikari and Yahiko. "Ano....I didnt know you were doing anything....gomen!!" Tsubame said hurriedly before rushing out.  
  
"Tsubame!!! It's not what you think!!" Yahiko said as he ran after her...with Hikari clinging to his feet. Everyone in the room sweatdropped. "Tsk tsk...........Yahiko....2 girls.......at his age......" Sano shook his head. Everyone fell to the floor, twitching.  
  
~Night~ Toko made riceballs. The rice was........brown...and looked burnt. Yahiko just dove in and ate. "OISHIIII!!" He managed to mutter between munches as he ate. "No matter how many times i see the food taht Toko-san cooks......i can never just eat it without thinking it was poisoned....." Sano muttered. He received dozens of burnt rice balls thrown at his face.  
  
~Later that night~ Toko sat on her futon, wearing a yukata. She looked up at the moon and remembered the night Soujiro was sitting up in the tree, singing with his gentle and soothing voice. A teardrop fell from her face. *Soujiro........why........* Today was the day they had parted. She swore to herself she would forget about him.......but everywhere she went.....she saw him. She saw his face, she heard his voice, she felt his hands on hers... Toko shook her head. She shouldn't be thinking about someone who had betrayed her trust....and yet....she couldnt help it....  
  
AN: er....end of chappie.....i only made it 8 pages this time to test out if teh formatting will be better.....so hmm....the ficcie getting angsty again..... *shniffles* poor toko....poor soujiro......will they ever get back together?! Readers: *whisper* they were never together Author: eh?? Ooooo i forgot....^^;; well they will be!! Uh oh....too much information.....cant let readers know!! *runs away*  
  
  
  
OOOOOOOOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ppl.....no flames puhleeze!!! ^________________^ 


	6. We Meet Again

AN: Im back!!! With another chappie!!! Readers: duh....why else would you update again? Author: *sweatdrop* good point......  
  
?????: Hmm....I would make the chappies longer.....but it always messes up the formatting....maybe if i uploaded my chappies in text format.....so oki....ill give it a try...ill make my chappies teh usual 13 pages or more and upload it in text format....see how if it works......and toko and soujiro werent together remember? Theyre just "friends" for now.....^^  
  
Crystal: Eep!! Im continuing the story!! *types furiously* .sdffkolhdfg: yukata!! Okies! Arigatougozaimasu!! *bows* *bows too low and falls over* Itai.......x_________X =]: *shniffles* thankies so much for your support! Im so touched.....*shniff* ???????: Soujiro and Toko get back together? Well, read and find out! ^_^ oh and dont forget to review again! ^_______________^0 *readers face fault*  
  
We Meet Again  
  
Several days passed as Toko stayed at the Kamiya Dojo. Her emotions would vary. Sometimes, especially during the nights of the full moon, she would have the look of loneliness in her now-always dull eyes and her smile would seem more fake and she was quiet. Othertimes, especially around Hikari, she would have the face of a carefree girl who had never had any problems.......  
  
"Hikari!! Yamete!! (Stop) This is embarassing!!" A blushing Yahiko managed to stutter as he tried to shake off Hikari. "Mou!! Yahiko-chan!!" Hikari sighed as she happily glomped his arm. Tsubame had a blushing face as she tried to separate them. "Hikari! You still have to wash the dishes!" She said with a sweatdrop. "But...My Yahiko-chan is here!" pouted Hikari. "Im not your Yahiko-chan!!" Argued Yahiko.  
  
Toko had an amused smile on her face. *Ah yes....every time we go to the Akabeko.....tsk tsk poor Yahiko* She thought, pitying the boy. Kaoru and Sano were fighting for the food, and Kenshin was calming them down. Toko being the only one not engaged in a "battle", her mind slowly wandered to a certain black haired, dark gray/dark brown eyed rurouni who was her ex- friend.  
  
*Wonder what he's doing now.......* She caught herself thinking wistfully. Mentally slapping herself she thought again *Not that I care......* Her mind slipping in a state of depression, and her smile sliding from her face. Of course, no one noticed, for they were all occupied in arguing at the moment......  
  
~Meanwhile......~  
  
A rurouni slowly trudged his way into town. *Back again........to where it all started* He thought sadly......  
  
~After lunch~  
  
The Kenshingumi and Toko walked out of Akabeko, with Hikari sneaking out of work and following them. Hikari's eyes lit up at the sight of a store selling cute trinkets.  
  
"Yahiko-chan!! Let's go look at that store!" She said happily as she rushed off in the store's direction. There......she bumped into someone.  
  
"Oof!" Hikari cried as she fell to the floor. "Daijobu desuka?" A concerned voice asked. *That voice.......so familiar....* Hikari thought as she looked up. Eyes widening......she whispered...... "It's you...."  
  
Soujiro was startled as he heard the blond girl whisper. "You're the other one that saved me!" Hikari said in an excited voice. "Other one?" Soujiro blinked. "You and Toko nee-san!!" "To...Toko? She is here?"  
  
Toko and the Kenshingumi rushed off after Hikari. *That girl is going to get herself in big trouble disappearing like that* She thought as she ran, and saw the one who has been breaking through both her dreams and nightmares. She stared into the eyes of her betrayer...........  
  
Both masked ones thought at the same time....... *It's you.......*  
  
Kenshin and the others caught up with them. "Sou-kun! You're back!" Kaoru said cheerfully. "Oi, Tenken, I think Toko here missed you terribly" Sano remarked. Kenshin narrowed his eyes, thinking *What will happen now?*  
  
Both Toko and Soujiro stared into each others eyes, both looking for what emotions lay hidden. *His eyes......I can barely see through them.....i imagined them to be full of arrogance....but wait.....was that a flicker of......relief?!* Toko thought.  
  
*She.....has changed.....I can tell.....her face has a worn look and her eyes......so....unnerving.....so....dead......did I....do this?* Soujiro sadly wondered.  
  
Toko narrowed her eyes. "Sano, take Yahiko and Hikari back to the Dojo." She said grimly. "Nande? Oh...I know! You just want to be with Tenken alone huh?" The dense Sano smirked....but the smile fled from his face as soon as he saw Toko's face.  
  
The masked ones.....were unmasked..... Soujiro's face one of guilt and regret......Toko's face hatred and......sadness? Hurt?  
  
"Now." Toko repeated, never looking away from Soujiro's eyes.  
  
Sano said nothing as he ushered the 2 kids away. Hikari and Yahiko were sullen and quiet, sensing the tension in the air. Hikari didn't even try to glomp Yahiko all the way back.  
  
"Kenshin.....what's wrong with them?" Kaoru said tearfully as she moved closer to the red haired rurouni for comfort. "Something they have to settle alone...." Kenshin said quietly as he led Kaoru away from the two.  
  
Now alone.....the two once-friends stood staring at one another.  
  
"Tenken no Soujiro, I swore I would kill you the next time I saw you..... and now we meet again." The long ponytailed girl said seriously. Soujiro gave a small nod and said "I remember......but not here....we will fight elsewhere."  
  
With that, he ran off, motioning for Toko to follow.  
  
They ran to a quiet secluded area in a forest. "Before we battle.......that day........you mentioned 'Him'.....what did He do?" Soujiro asked, referring to the Him that Toko spoke of on the day he betrayed her.  
  
"Him.....He was......Yoshitaka......When I was about...13.......he appeared at my uncle's house. He secretly promised me.......that he would take me away from that horrid place.....He promised me.....that he would never leave me....and that I meant more to him than anything......." Toko began slowly....  
  
"I trusted him with all my heart.......I was a fool. On the day we were supposed to sneak away, we were caught. I found out that Yoshitaka was working for my uncle. He was supposed to see if I was loyal to our family. Apparently I wasn't. As a punishment, I was whipped 150 times, and kicked and beaten."  
  
Toko pulled her shirt lower at the back, revealing long scar marks.  
  
"This was what I got for trusting someone. At that time.....I swore I would never trust someone again....but instead....you came...and with your act......you fooled me....." She adjusted her shirt back and she looked at Soujiro, tears of hate in her eyes.  
  
"But....it was worth it.....3 years later.........I killed him....Yoshitaka was going to beat me again.....spit in my face....so I took my sword and stabbed it straight through his heart." She said almost cruelly.  
  
"And this is where I haven't told you the whole truth......when I said my Uncle was robbed......turns out Yoshitaka robbed them and he was going to run away with the money, but since I killed him, Uncle didn't want the family reputation ruined because Yoshitaka was supposingly a good friend of ours. So he decided to kill me and say that because I wasn't born into a real family.....I got jealous of them so I decided to get revenge on them by robbing them and running away...........and that was when you saved me........" She continued painfully.  
  
*Toko.....killed someone?* Soujiro thought, *she must have been living in guilt for the rest of her life......*  
  
"Toko.....I didnt mean what I said....." Soujiro said slowly....  
  
"THEN WHY DID YOU SAY IT AT ALL?!" Toko interupted. Tears of anger streamed through her face.  
  
"Kisama.......dont try your act on me again! It won't work!" She screamed. She rushed at him with her straight sword. Soujiro dodged her.  
  
"Toko....listen!! I wasn't thinking! My mind.....my thoughts were somewhere else!" He said between breaths as he grabbed Toko's hands and pushed her against a tree, not allowing her to move.  
  
"Stop lying......Fight me!" Toko yelled angrily as she gritted her teeth.  
  
*Why......I'm supposed to hate you.......but why.........do I feel like......I will only hurt myself more by killing you?*  
  
With a savage yank she pulled herself free from Soujiro's grasp and struck again. "I thought you were my friend! The one person I could trust!" She yelled angrily.  
  
*No.....you were more than a friend.....*  
  
Tears blurred her vision. "Fight me dammit!" She yelled.  
  
~Soujiro's POV~  
  
I looked at her...... "I am your friend and you can still trust me now!" I yelled. I looked into her eyes. Beneath the tears.....I saw.....emotions ......never have I seen her so open.  
  
The pain was evident in her eyes......she was deeply hurt.  
  
*Why....why does she hate me so much? I know I was her only friend....but that shouldn't have caused her to hate me so much.....*  
  
Wait.......a flicker....a flicker of....... *Could it be? Such an emotion I have never seen directed at me.......* My eyes widened slightly. *Could she.......love me? Is that why she was so hurt?*  
  
"Toko.....could it be.....you're so hurt......because.....you loved me?" I whispered, not believing what i was saying.  
  
I could see the shock in her eyes as she froze, her mind racing with a dozen thoughts. She shook her head hard, as if trying to clear thoughts out of her head. "Yamete.......(stop) STOP SAYING THINGS THAT ARENT TRUE!" She said angrily as she attacked me again.  
  
Her tone of voice was laced with anger....but her eyes.......her eyes told me that I was right. *She loved me.....and.......I.......loved her......but we never told each other because we were scared that the other would reject us and our friendship would be torn*  
  
~Toko's POV~  
  
*How could he have known? Soujiro....I loved you....I still do.......Iie.....I would never love him......* I thought angrily.  
  
But his eyes.......even as I attacked him......His eyes were so full of truth.....sincerity...... *It's just an act........Dont be fooled* I thought to myself.  
  
I managed to slam him into a tree. I struck at him......but he grabbed my arms. "Why.........Why do you make me feel this way.....Im supposed to hate you......To kill you and be glad you're gone......but.......instead..........I feel.........different........." I whispered to him. I watched his eyes widen.  
  
~Soujiro's POV~  
  
*Supposed to hate me........Supposed.......Toko.......you dont know how much I love you.....* I wanted to cry out desperately, but I knew she would think I was lying.  
  
"Why is it.....that when Im near you....I feel as if everything will be alright..........even though you're a complete liar....." She said again, as if trying not to believe what she was saying.  
  
"Toko......I.....I'm sorry that I hurt you......" I nervously said, but I was interrupted. "Stop making excuses........go" Toko said as she turned away, her back towards me.  
  
"Go......before I change my mind......" She said again, her voice almost inaudible. "Demo....(But) Toko.....I-" *Toko......I love you.......* But I didn't have a chance to tell her.  
  
"GO!!!!" She screamed at me. "Why won't you listen?! I dont want to kill you! Now go before I am forced to do so!"  
  
~Toko's POV~  
  
*Why won't he leave? I want him out out of my life......right?*  
  
  
  
  
  
*right?*  
  
  
  
"Toko....." I heard him say softly as he stepped towards me.  
  
*What is he trying to do? Play me into his act again? Can't he see I'm already caught in his web of lies? I want to get away........I tried to kill him......but instead I'm letting him go.......and now......he wants me to become even more entangled in his web?*  
  
I leaped back and slammed the hilt of my sword against his face. He barely dodged the attack.....escaping with a little bruise.  
  
"TEMME (You bastard) JUST GO ALREADY! WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO?! YOU ALREADY HURT ME......WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT?!?!"  
  
  
  
~Soujiro's POV~  
  
"WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT?!"  
  
The words struck me deeply.  
  
*What more did I want? Do I want her to confess and say she loves me too? Maybe if I just get out of her life.....she'll be happier........is that what she wants? To forget about me?*  
  
"G-Gomen....I.....I'll leave now...."  
  
I turned around and started walking out of her sight......but I had to tell her something first......I just had to......it wouldnt matter how she would react anyway.......since we weren't friends anymore......  
  
"Toko.....I just wanted to say.......A.....Aishiteru.........."  
  
I could sense her tensing up, debating what to say in her mind......  
  
"It's too late" She seethed. "Get out of my life.......STOP CAUSING ME MISERY!"  
  
I turned around to face her. But she was gone; ran away. I felt drops of water spill onto my hand, my shirt.  
  
*Is it.......raining?* I wondered. I lifted my hands to my face.....only to feel more drops of water.  
  
*No....Im......crying.......*  
  
~Toko's POV~  
  
*Aishiteru.........I love you........*  
  
Those words whispered in my mind over and over........a never ending cycle.  
  
*Yamete.........YAMETE! STOP STOP!!!*  
  
I fell to the floor, clutching my head.  
  
*Im supposed to forget about him!! He doesn't love me!! He's lying! USOTSKI (Liar)*  
  
AN: i know its not spelled that way....but its just pronounced kinda like that.....  
  
  
  
I lifted my hands to my face.....staring at them dazed.........  
  
*Am i really that gullible? That naiive? I don't think I am.....but then...why do I find myself believing what Soujiro said?*  
  
~Narrator's POV~  
  
Both the boy and the girl sat/stood where they were.....tears streaming down their faces..........hearts torn to pieces......  
  
~Kamiya Dojo~  
  
"Kenshin?" The short, scarred swordsman looked up. "Nani, Kaoru-dono? (what?)" "Toko and Sou-kun isn't back yet.......do you think something happened to them?" Kaoru said worriedly. "Wakaranai (I don't know)" Kenshin said. "Can you look for them?" "Kaoru-dono.....I dont know if that is a good idea de gozaru......" "Onegai? (Please?) Kenshin? I'm really worried.........."  
  
Kenshin sighed. "Very well........."  
  
Kenshin went out of the dojo. *Hmm...where could they have gone?*  
  
~Village of Lost Souls~  
  
Toko sat there rocking back and forth, her tear-stained face looking miserably at the air. The people there avoided her.....not because of her pale face, her lonely expression, or her freakish smile.......but..........  
  
Her dead eyes...........it made her look like she was a living corpse.  
  
~Back to Kenshin~  
  
"Where have they gone degozaru ka......." Kenshin muttered to himself. Wait....Right there! A flash of a blade.......a blur of blue!  
  
Walking quietly towards Soujiro.....he gasped in shock at what Soujiro was going to do.  
  
~Camera zooms to Soujiro~  
  
After cleaning himself, Soujiro looked around for a quiet and peaceful place. After a few minutes, he found the spot he had been looking for. A quiet place with small patches of wildflowers, with the musky scent of wood.  
  
*This will be the place* He decided.  
  
With his small smile and extremely sad eyes, he looked up at the sky. "Well, Shishio-san.......looks like you and Yumi-neesan will be getting an unexpected visit from me......"  
  
He lowered his head and whispered "Shishio-san......you were right.....as always......The strong live and the weak die.........Im too weak Shishio-san.......so weak I cannot even handle a thing such as love......I cannot control my emotions, therefore i cannot control myself.......so weak.........."  
  
Soujiros voice was now below a whisper "So weak.......That I am going to die at the hands of.......myself"  
  
Talking again in a normal voice, he said "I hope you won't scold me too much for being weak Shishio-san.......See you soon"  
  
Soujiro took out his sword, looking at how the blade flashes brightly at the sunlight, and wondering how it could dull so much after being covered in blood. *Covered in my blood* He thought dazedly, *I have always wondered how much a blade hurts.....afterall......punches hurt a lot.....a blade must hurt even more......but......if Yumi-neesan can take it (readers who dont know what Im talking about just think of Shishio's battle with Kenshin).....then I can too..........*  
  
He took the blade by the hilt with both hands, and plunged it towards his stomach.......  
  
Only to have it deflected away.  
  
"Nani?!" He muttered angrily.  
  
"What do you think you're doing?" A voice of a certain red haired ex rurouni said coldly. "What does it look like?" "You're killing yourself." "I know" "Why?" "Because........it'll end all the pain I caused......." "You're just running away." "Iie....some people are happier with me being dead." "What about Toko?" "As I said.......some people are happier with me being dead."  
  
~Village of Lost Souls~  
  
The girl rocked back and forth, back and forth, lost in deep thought.  
  
A drunkard dared come up to her.  
  
"Hey, missy? Looking for a night of fun?" He mumbled pervertedly. (He's drunk so he doesnt really know what he's doing)  
  
SLASH  
  
*THUD*  
  
The man's upper body flew a few feet away while his lower body fell with a sickening thump.  
  
The girl continued rocking back and forth, her straight sword shining with fresh blood.  
  
~Camera swings over to Kenshin~  
  
"As I said.......some people are happier with me being dead." *What does he mean? Toko can't.....possibly want him dead......* Kenshin thought to himself. "Are you talking about Toko?" He asked. "Stop asking questions you already know the answers to, Himura-san" Soujiro said with his adoring smile, but his voice betrayed him, full of agony and despair. "Toko doesn't want you dead." "Really? Well.....that's a relief." Soujiro said sarcastically.  
  
"I mean it." "I believe you." Soujiro said again, his voice laced with fake happiness.  
  
"Can I have my sword back?" Soujiro asked hopefully.  
  
"No, I know you're going to try to kill yourself again." "Ah....Himura-san......you know me too well..." "Soujiro.......I'm serious.......Toko doesnt want you dead. She loves you." Soujiro's voice seemed to waver and his pupils slightly narrowed.  
  
"Himura-san........do not assume too much.....you dont even know what is going on. She doesn't love me.......she made that clear when she rejected my apology."  
  
*And my feelings* He thought bitterly.  
  
"Himura-san, if you dont believe me, maybe you should go talk to Toko......" "Kaoru said she was going to do that." "Sou desuka? (Is that so?)" "Aa. (Yea)"  
  
*Wonder what Kaoru-san will find out?* Soujiro wondered.  
  
  
  
~Village of Lost Souls~  
  
The girl huddled against the wall, her arms wrapped around her legs, rocking back and forth.........that was how Kaoru found her.  
  
"Toko-chan! Daijobu desuka?!" Kaoru said fearfully as she kneeled down besides Toko and put a hand on her shoulder. Toko shrank away from the comforting gesture, letting out a whimper as if she was scared.  
  
"Toko-chan?"  
  
No answer.  
  
"Toko-chan.......what happened?" Kaoru tentively asked Toko. Toko started rocking back and forth again. "I'll never tell~" She said in an unhuman sing-song voice.  
  
AN: we all know what that phrase was from.....er......that movie.........well if ya dont know what Im talking about......I forgot the title of that movie so dont ask......^^;;)  
  
"Toko-chan!!" Kaoru said desperately.  
  
Silence.  
  
Toko just rocked back and forth, lost in her own world.  
  
Kaoru sighed.  
  
*What happened?!*  
  
Kaoru went to tell Kenshin of Toko's condition.  
  
~Kamiya Dojo~  
  
Kaoru and Kenshin met back there. Kenshin literally dragging Soujiro along, who didn't want to come. Kenshin tossed him against a tree, where Soujiro slumped over, grinning stupidly.  
  
"What's wrong with Sou-kun?" Kaoru asked. "He tried to kill himself." Kenshin said hoarsely, "What about Toko-dono?" "Shes.......Shes lost it...." Kaoru mumbled as she shook her head. "I found her at the Village of Lost Souls........I dont know what is wrong with her.......shes just......its like.......her mind isnt there anymore.....like she's just an empy husk filled with insanity."  
  
Kenshin raised an eyebrow. "Shes.....gone.......insane?"  
  
Kaoru gave a slight nod. "Seems so......and I saw a dead rotting corpse near her.......I dont know what happened but she might have killed him."  
  
Kenshin turned towards Soujiro. "Soujiro tell us now..........what happened?"  
  
"Oro? Soujiro?"  
  
Soujiro was gone.  
  
Soujiro used his shukuchi and ran. He ran as fast as he could.  
  
*Shes.......Shes lost it......her mind isnt there anymore.......empty husk filled with insanity............insane?..............she might have killed him........rotting corpse.........*  
  
The words repeated over and over in his head. *Has she.....gone insane because of me?*  
  
~Village of Lost Souls~  
  
The girl rocked back and forth, ignoring the stares some of the outcasts gave her.  
  
Back and forth.....back and forth..........  
  
Soujiro arrived. He looked around for the happy girl he once knew. He wished he would find her bounding to him and crying 'Sou-chan!' But instead, he found dirty shacks filled with seemingly hostile people.  
  
He went up to the first man. "Have you seen a girl with a long ponytail and foreign clothing?" He asked. The man looked up and smiled, showing decaying teeth. "Gotta pay for information lad." He chuckled.  
  
Soujiro knocked him over with his sword which he had gotten back from Kenshin. He lifted the man by the collar. "Where.......is........she" He gritted, his face suddenly sliding from his mask. "In the back of the village!! Watch out.......she kills anyone near her." The frightened man stuttered.  
  
Soujiro dropped the man and ran towards the back of the village.  
  
The girl rocked back and forth............and stopped.  
  
She blinked once, her dead eyes seeming to form a look of mischief. Her grin became wider. "He is coming........."  
  
Soujiro found her with that look. He almost couldn't recognize her. He saw the small body looking so helpless and vulnerable......until he saw the corpse and the bloodied sword.  
  
"To.....Toko-chan?" He whispered. The girl ignored him. "Toko? It's me.....Soujiro....." He said again.  
  
Once again, the girl made no answer.  
  
"Toko-chan......Look.....I'm-" He was cut off.  
  
"Do you know what love is? What peace is? And happiness? I don't." Toko, her grin contradicting her emotionless voice.  
  
"Toko?" Soujiro questioned.  
  
"But I know what hatred, darkness, despair, and loneliness is. I know it very well. So well.....I forgot about happiness. Happiness and peace disturbs me." She stated again.  
  
"Toko-chan.....are you......there?" Soujiro questioned.  
  
No answer.  
  
"Toko-chan.....please.....talk to me......ple-" He was cut off again.  
  
Toko's face had twisted into a look of anger, though her smile was still there.  
  
"I can hear the bird's chirping. They sound so happy. I hate happiness." She said emotionlessly and in one swift motion, she threw her mini shuriken at the bird, cutting its head off. The body fell to the floor.  
  
Soujiro stared at her in shock. *She's acting so cruel.......so indifferent.......*  
  
Toko regained her dazed grin. "There. No more happy disturbances. I can wallow in agony again." She said happily. "Toko......" Soujiro took a step towards the girl.  
  
Toko's face seemed to reflect hatred. "Don't come near me." Her face softened, seeming almost like the Toko Soujiro once knew. "Please.......don't......." She whispered softly.  
  
Suddenly, she clutched her head.....she shook her head and clenched her fist. She looked up. Her face emotionless except for the smile.....her eyes dead again.  
  
"Don't come near me" She repeated.  
  
Soujiro almost broke down.  
  
*I.....I hurt her so much....but......she turned back to her old self for a short while.........she can still be saved from insanity......just like she saved me.......* He took another step towards her.  
  
And another step.  
  
Toko started shivering.  
  
"Yamete........stop.......don't come closer.......DONT COME CLOSER!!" She shrieked, crawling frantically into a corner and huddling there, shivering almost in fright.  
  
Suddenly, she became limp, and almost in an instant she had opened her eyes again. Her eyes suddenly full of life.  
  
"Please, don't come near me.........I might do something I'll regret......please.....I dont want to kill......I dont want to kill........" She murmured over and over again, clutching her head and rocking back and forth.  
  
"Toko.......I've come to save you.......please.......let me help you........" Soujiro tried to convince her. After one more step, Toko changed again........  
  
Her face contorted in agony, as if two sides fighting with each other. She stood up, still clutching her head. Staggering backwards, she stumbled over a dead body and fell down. When she raised her head.....it was once again.....devoid of any emotion except for a smile and dead eyes.  
  
She sat there, unmoving, her smile seemingly mysterious. Soujiro took a step near her. There, he noticed.......tears fell down her unmoving face. She didn't blink. The tears just fell down her face, while her dead eyes stared into the air, her smile unwavering.  
  
*I know the Toko I love is still there.......shes the one crying......* Soujiro thought to himself.  
  
Taking one more step........  
  
  
  
SLASH  
  
  
  
Metal against metal, blade against blade.  
  
Toko had slashed at Soujiro, but thanks to Soujiro's instincts, he dodged in the nick of time. Toko stood up slashing at him repeatedly, her face with no emotion except for the grin, and her tears.  
  
Pushing Toko down, Soujiro knelt towards her.  
  
"Toko......Gomen.........please......say my name........Toko.....my name"  
  
Toko looked at Soujiro, her face in confusion for a moment. Then she snarled,  
  
  
  
  
  
"Yoshitaka."  
  
  
  
  
  
AN: Finally! Another chappie! WAHHAHAHAHA ooooiiii Toko went cuckoo!! What now? Will she ever get better? Who knows?!?! Well i do....but im not telling....wahahahahha......remember......reviews make Toko (as in the author) very happy! SO REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!  
  
*Glomps her soujiro and okita plushies*  
  
^__________________________________^ 


	7. The Insanity Broken

IM BACK!!! WITH ANOTHER CHAPPIE!!!!! *shniffles* me so happi......my formatting was *almost* perfect........*shniffs with pride* yup...much easier for all of you readers to read eh?? =^_______________________^= Btw....22 reviews!!! ME HAPPPPPPPPPYYYYYY!! I was afraid because i just saw a sou-chan ficcie with 21 chappies.......and 7 reviews......-_-;; feel so sorry for the author......  
  
Crystal: thankies!! *sniffles* I try my best to describe people....but sometimes my friends say I get boring.......;;  
  
SailorLoneStar: yup!! Another chappie!!! *parties all night and gets dizzy from spiked punch* oro......@_@  
  
???????: yup.....I agree....I also thought the chappie was a bit weird at first.....but then I couldn't think of a way to improve it anymore......^^;; btw....do you know i actually count how many '?' signs you put in your review name? ^____________________^0  
  
Sano: hehehe thankies .........thankies very much *acts all elvis presley like* anyhoooo yup the emotional thing...I try to put myself in the mood before I type.....so normally I end up sad/mad kind of mood......so I guess my writing reflects it? ^^;; yup....call me weird!! *all readers nod in agreement* OIII That was a joke! *vein pops*  
  
Sabbie: ORO!! Me typing me typing!! Im trying to finish it!! *types furiously* ::acts all Soujiro-ish* Sabbie-san.....you're harder to please then Shishio-san and Himura-san....^^:; *bad imitation of Soujiro* ::all the readers sweatdrop and fall to the floor twitching* *toko's vein pops out* MOU!! Not MY fault I have bad acting skills......_________;;  
  
  
  
O yeah....btw.....here's some REALLY good songs......(PS: i dont own them...and i dont own RK either.....and yup....this is a shtinky disclaimer....^^;;)  
  
Hitomi: Samurai Drive Hitomi: I Am Long Vacation Soundtrack: Silent Emotion  
  
  
  
The Insanity Broken  
  
  
  
~Toko POV~  
  
  
  
It was him.......the one I had feared......the one who had betrayed me.........the one who haunted me in nightmares every night..........I stared at his face.......  
  
He held me down.........  
  
"Say my name." He ordered.  
  
I looked into his face.......for a minute I thought I saw a young boy with black hair and a blue gi.....looking down at me with concern in his eyes.......he seemed..........so familiar.......  
  
I shook my head.  
  
*Now is not the time to be daydreaming!* I scolded myself.  
  
Blinking.....I now see the face of Him again........his messy brown hair.......his trademark smirk......his kakoii face that could make any girl swoon........but beneath all that lies his true self.....a lying deceitful monster......  
  
"Yoshitaka" I snarled at him, voicing my hatred.  
  
Once again my vision blurred.......I was now at a strange village.........and I see the face of the boy again.........except this time.........his expression was stunned.....as if I had done something wrong..........  
  
*But what? What did I do wrong?*  
  
I felt tears pour out of my eyes.....something......or someone......in the back of my head seemed to know this person........  
  
*Perhaps he is my guardian angel.......*  
  
"Are you.....here to save me? Are you my tenchi?(Angel)" I whisper, forgetting about Yoshitaka.  
  
*This can't be my imagination........He seems too real.........*  
  
  
  
~Soujiro's POV~  
  
  
  
I stared at her shocked.  
  
*Did she just call me Yoshitaka?!*  
  
My mind was a swirl of thoughts.  
  
*Why did she call me that? Did she really forget about me?*  
  
I look at her........my mask....I can't seem to put it back up.......the shock was too great........  
  
I see her eyes filling back with life, and more tears stream out of her face.  
  
"Are you.....here to save me? Are you my tenchi?" She whispers hesitantly.  
  
*Te-Tenchi? Me?*  
  
"Onegai.....(Please) Tasukete.......(Help) Onegai???" She begged as her hands grabbed my gi and shook me.  
  
"Save me from this hell-house! Save me from Him!!" She said frantically, her eyes unfocused and wild.  
  
Once again she staggered back, backing into a wall and clutched her head.  
  
"Toko-chan? Daijobu??" I cried as I rushed to her side.  
  
  
  
~Toko POV~  
  
  
  
I clung to my angel, asking him for help.  
  
*Why isn't he helping me?! Am I already dead? Did Yoshitaka kill me and has my angel come to take me away? *  
  
I looked into his eyes.......his eyes were shocked, but full of..........love?  
  
*Love? What's that?*  
  
Then I remembered. Love was the weapon Yoshitaka used to get me to believe him. That's what love was. My angel is a fake!! It's Yoshitaka trying to deceive me again!  
  
Hot searing pain streaked across my head, running along my brain, leaving burning hot trails behind.  
  
I clamped my hands against my head, hoping to squeeze the pain out.  
  
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!" I screamed.  
  
The pain seemed to burn its way through my mind.  
  
Something in the back of my head urged me.........Something told me that my tenchi was real.....that he meant no harm........it told me love wasn't what I thought it was......It tried to fight its way and control my body!!  
  
~Flashback~  
  
I had a dream.........once a long time ago.......  
  
The angel came to me..........embracing me and whispering that everything was all right.  
  
"Shhhh......Don't be scared........I'm your angel.......Im here for you........always." The angel whispered to me.  
  
Funny thing was........the angel had no wings......in the place of the wings was a nihonto and instead of long flowing heavenly gold or silver hair.......it was replaced with plain, short, black hair. I never saw his face.......but I knew he was my tenchi......deep in my heart.......I knew it.........  
  
But as soon as he embraced me, he left, and I woke up to a hard kick from my Uncle, who ordered me back to work.  
  
~End Flashback~  
  
I shook my head hard, pushing the Something into the back of my mind.  
  
I felt dizzy and the setting changed again. I was back at the rice warehouse.......and Yoshitaka was once again smirking at me.  
  
"Yoshitaka.......that was a nice trick.........I don't know how you knew my dreams........pretending to be my tenchi.......but I have seen through your act......you can't fool me..........I will kill you today!" I yelled at him.  
  
~Soujiro POV~  
  
* Seeing through her dreams? Pretending to be her tenchi? Why does Toko keep calling me Yoshitaka? She thinks she's still in the past.......*  
  
I dodged several of her sword strokes and caught dozens of her mini shurikens.  
  
  
  
I managed to wrench the sword from her hands, and threw it far away and it stabbed into the trunk of a tree.  
  
She now flung herself at me with a series of punches.  
  
*She's going to collapse if she keeps going like this......Yet.......she doesn't seem to feel anything at all.......*  
  
I could see her face was tired and pale, but she wouldn't stop attacking. Her body seemed to move mechanically, like she had no mind of her own. But her eyes held two battling forces within each other.  
  
"Toko! Listen to me! I'm not Yoshitaka!!" I yelled desperately.  
  
"LIAR!" Toko screeched as she flung a kick and collapsed on the floor.  
  
"Toko!!" I cried as I ran to her side.  
  
*Why do I keep running to her? She's been trying to kill me.......yet I still come to her when she's hurt.......is this what love is?* I wonder to myself, never having experienced love before.  
  
She shivered and crawled away from me, as if trying to get away.  
  
"Get away from me......No more lashes.......I've had enough!" She muttered, struggling to get up, but collapsing again.  
  
~Toko POV~  
  
Yoshitaka came at me, his whip in his hand.  
  
"No more lashes......please" I cried out pityingly.  
  
*How weak* I thought to myself, *You're begging like a dog*  
  
I tried to stand up, but my body wouldn't move.  
  
*What is wrong with me?* I wondered.  
  
I was in the rice warehouse, Yoshitaka was leering at me, his whip menacingly coming closer..  
  
(AN: I forgot what you called those places.....^^;; so I just made something up.......rice warehouse......^^;; I mean the house thingie where Soujiro hid Shishio........something like that.......)  
  
  
  
I stared into Yoshitaka's brown-dark gray eyes. Wait.....Yoshitaka's eyes were supposed to be a nice, golden color..........  
  
Images flashed before me. All were of me and that black haired tenchi.......but wait......wasn't that tenchi Yoshitaka in disguise?  
  
*The tenchi saving me from my Uncle......when was that?? Yoshitaka dead.......How? He's standing right here.......Me sleeping in the same bed as the tenchi? Nani?! (What?) Tenchi's don't sleep.....do they? Me......helping the tenchi from a nightmare.......Huh? Tenchi's don't have nightmares.....WHEN WAS ALL THIS?!*  
  
Memories crashed on me, wave after wave.  
  
*What? When? How? Where did I get these memories? What trickery is this?*  
  
I curled into a ball on the floor, holding my head.  
  
I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping to squeeze all of this confusion out.  
  
I felt arms embrace me, and hold me close, like in my dream.  
  
The sky was crying (AN: raining)..........but crying for who? Crying for me? Because of these memories? Or crying for the tenchi holding me? If so........why?  
  
I don't remember........everything was in a haze........the other being inside of me pushed itself out of its hiding place.......this time I didn't resist......it seized control of my body.........  
  
My mind blanked out..........and opened at the same time........  
  
  
  
~Soujiro POV~  
  
I held Toko close to me as she shivered uncontrollably. I held her tightly and wished I could do something to stop her from the mysterious pain that seemed to occur within her.  
  
Suddenly she slumped over, unconscious, but in a second her eyes opened again.......  
  
Her eyes were full of life, though tired, and her eyes flashed in recognition when she saw me.  
  
"Soujiro?" She said weakly.  
  
"Toko!! You remember me!!" I cried relieved.  
  
She gave a slight nod.  
  
"Soujiro......I'm so cold.............so tired........." She whispered, her voice barely audible.  
  
"I know......you went through a lot.......Toko.........Go-Gomen......I didnt mean to cause you so much pain and suffering...I.......I didnt mea-" I started to say, but I was cut short when Toko shakily put her hand to my mouth, stopping me.  
  
Her hand shook, as if she was using all her strength just to keep her arm up.  
  
"Hora.....(Hey) Look Soujiro..........Ame.......(Rain).....The sky is crying for me.........I......I didn't know why at first........but now I do........" She managed to say before she started coughing and gasping as if she could barely breath.  
  
*She's so tired her lungs seem to wear out on her.......* I thought in realization.......*Please.......Kami-sama.......Shishio-san.......Himura- san.......Anyone........Please don't let her die!!*  
  
"The sky.......is crying because.......I couldn't tell the difference from my tenchi to Yoshitaka........and now........now that I finally figured it out.........it's too late........" She said again after she calmed down a bit, her breathing still ragged.  
  
"Gomen ne.......My Soujiro no tenchi.........(AN: er........Angel Soujiro? LOL sounds okay in japanese but it sounds so weird in english!! ^__________^0)  
  
  
  
~Toko POV~  
  
  
  
I was so tired......tired beyond belief. I couldn't move at all. I could feel my lungs and my heart weighing upon me as 100 bags of rice.  
  
*I'm certain I'm going to die.......* I thought.  
  
"Soujiro.......Gomen ne.......I shouldn't have overreacted.............."  
  
"You didnt overreact--"  
  
"But I did.......I tried to kill you."  
  
"You did that because you were confused."  
  
"Why......why are you still kind to me........I tried to kill you! You should've just left me here to die."  
  
"Sou dai yo ne....Hendai yo ne...(True......strange huh?) But I guess love seems to be stronger than hate......."  
  
I widened my eyes in shock. I tried to look at him, but my neck wouldn't move.  
  
"Soujiro.......you said you loved me......you still do?"  
  
Soujiro paused and tensed for a moment, and I was sure he didnt love me anymore........or maybe he never did........until he wiped all those thoughts away by saying  
  
"Aa.....I guess I am very strange aren't I? I can't seem to stop loving someone even though I was rejected and was almost killed......."  
  
"You weren't rejected."  
  
I could feel his body tense again, and I could just imagine his eyes widening as he looked down on me.  
  
I felt his breath on my face as I said,  
  
"Soujiro.....I never knew what love was........The concept of love was destroyed by Yoshitaka......but since you came.....I can't seem to stop thinking about you........your face follows me everywhere.....and I always wanted to be wherever you were........is that what love is? I hope so......because if so.....then I can truly say....Aishiteru-"  
  
I started coughing again.......I couldn't breath.......Im too tired.......Im fading away........my vision grows hazy, and it turns black slowly, as if someone was painting my eyes black.  
  
"Sayonara.......Soujiro.......my tenchi...."  
  
~Soujiro POV~  
  
Toko's breathing stopped. Her heart was still.  
  
"Toko?" I said cautiously.  
  
She wouldn't answer.  
  
I put a small, shaky smile on my face.  
  
"Toko-chan? We have to go back to the dojo now.....wake up?"  
  
Still no answer.  
  
My smile just broke and I practically yelled  
  
"TOKO!! PLEASE! WAKE UP!! TOKO!!!!!"  
  
No answer......  
  
*Was she gone from me.........forever?*  
  
  
  
~Narrator POV~  
  
  
  
The boy in the blue gi huddled over the thin figure, both he and the sky crying.......  
  
Kenshin and Kaoru hurried to the Village of Lost Souls, only to find Soujiro holding tightly onto a small, fragile figure. His back shook with sobs, and he kept muttering  
  
"She's gone.......really gone........wake up......please??"  
  
Kaoru gasped. *Toko......dead? *  
  
"Soujiro! What........what happened?!" Kenshin said in a shocked voice.  
  
"Toko......she.....she worked herself to exhaustion........she......she's dead.....shes really dead..." He muttered.  
  
"Worked to exhaustion?" Kaoru exclaimed.  
  
Kenshin took a small bottle out of his pocket and gave it to Soujiro. "Soujiro......this was a small potion made by Shishou (Master Hiko!!!!!!).......He made it for me once when once I almost died fighting a bunch of bullies........it might help......"  
  
Soujiro took the bottle and poured its contents down Toko's throat.  
  
*Please........please work........I need you here.....*  
  
~Toko POV~  
  
The blackness slowly turned to gray..........I could see Soujiro huddled over a figure.........the figure was clearly female, and she wasn't moving. She had a long ponytail and her frail arms hung limply by her sides. She looked so familiar............  
  
*Wait! That's me!* I said amazedly..........I reached out to give Soujiro a hug........a hug before I left.......I knew I was dead.......I was a hairs breath from putting my arms around him, before I was yanked away by an invisible string......I was yanked through the gray clouds and into the sky.  
  
I was suddenly dressed in a white robe with a golden string tied at my waist. My hair hung free. I saw a man dressed in bandages.  
  
"You are Toko." He stated, as if stating a fact instead of asking a question.  
  
"H-hai" I said absently, my mind still on Soujiro.  
  
"I am Shishio"  
  
*Shi---SHISHIO?!?*  
  
He chuckled; an eery laugh.  
  
"No, you aren't in hell. We're in the path that decides where you should be. I have successfully conquered hell. Hell is my territory now. After I conquered it, I guess I'm basically the Devil now, and that makes me almost the equal of Kami, and that gives me the freedom to go whereever I want except to the Golden Land (Heaven) and Earth."  
  
(AN: remember Shishio was going to conquer hell? He said so himself in one of the series........er.....that was a spoiler wasn't it......^^;; woops.......)  
  
"So you're the one Soujiro talks about...."He continued.  
  
"EH?!" I said. "How does Soujiro talk to you?"  
  
"When people talk to me.......I can hear them........Just like how Kami can hear prayers......."  
  
"He talks to you?"  
  
"Constantly, like I was still alive. He talks to Yumi too."  
  
A green haired woman with green lipstick came out of nowhere and draped her arms around Shishio.  
  
"Hmm.....a bit different from what I expected......but that boya (boy) seems to have made a nice choice......." Yumi commented.  
  
"EH?!"  
  
*Why are they all looking at me like that!? They act like they're Soujiro's parents or something.......* I thought as I sweatdropped.  
  
"Anyway.......which road will you choose? You're supposingly supposed to go to the Golden Land, but then Soujiro's coming with me......so make your choice......go to a tortured land to wait for Soujiro or a perfect place with everything you want but Soujiro?"  
  
"Soujiro's not going to heaven? Why? He's not evil!" I blurted. "Naturally he'd want to stay by my side.......he had been doing that for 10 years......" Shishio said smugly.  
  
*Heaven, or hell? Heaven........but then..........with no Soujiro.......it'd still seem like hell.....but if I go to hell.......then I'd be tortured until Soujiro comes....then anything I face will be okay....as long as I'm with him........Hell it is then.......*  
  
I made my decision..........I would go to hell.......I would do anything for Soujiro...........  
  
"I'll go to........" I was cut off as I felt a string tie around my leg and jerk me down.  
  
I screamed all the way down and the last thing I heard before being slammed onto the ground and blacking out was.....  
  
"OHOHO....Still alive neh? Well I'll see you next time then!!" said Shishio accompanied by his mad cackle.  
  
  
  
~Narrators POV~  
  
  
  
Soujiro laid the girl down onto the futon, where Megumi ordered everyone around.  
  
After Soujiro put the potion down Toko's throat, she started shaking, and her limbs twitched once in a while, as if her brain was being sparked by electricity.  
  
Then Toko choked and coughed........and suddenly she started breathing, but she was still unconscious.  
  
*It worked........She's alive* Soujiro thought happily. He held Toko's cold hands, trying to warm them up.  
  
  
  
~Soujiro POV~  
  
  
  
A comforting hand was placed on my shoulder....  
  
I looked up to see Megumi. Her face didn't have that sly kitsune (fox) grin or her mischievous smile; for once her face was soft and gentle, and her smile was reassuring.  
  
"She'll live........although I don't see how she can be alive after being dead again.....Kenshin's master must have been a great potion- maker........." She said softly.  
  
"Hai.......I must go thank him someday......." I replied.  
  
"Remember Soujiro, I don't know the effects of the potion.......so it's possible that Toko may wake up with some side affects......like memory loss.......or paralyzation........or she may never wake up at all."  
  
I froze.  
  
"Never wake up? How is that possible? You mean she'll die?!"  
  
"Iie......It's like sleeping forever......the Westerners call it a coma.....but that probably won't happen........demo (but) ........just warning you okay?"  
  
I nodded numbly.  
  
*Sleeping forever.......please don't let that happen to Toko.....It's almost worse than death.......*  
  
~1 week later, Toko POV~  
  
I woke up, trying to raise my limbs and stretch them.......I was sore all over and my limbs felt like lead, and for some reason I couldn't lift my right hand......  
  
Looking down, I saw Soujiro, he was asleep, and holding my hand. His face was worn and he was thin, like he hadn't eaten in days.  
  
"Sou-Soujiro....." I said softly, but my voice was hoarse from being unused for so long.  
  
Clearing my throat, I called his name again.  
  
He stirred and lifted one eye.  
  
"To-Toko?! You're awake! Yogatta! (Thank goodness)" He exclaimed as he leaned over and gave me a big hug.  
  
"I was so worried......worried you'd be sleeping forever......" He mumbled into my ear.  
  
I stiffly put my arms around him; my limbs were still not functioning as well as they should.  
  
"I missed you." I murmured.  
  
"Same....." He murmured back.  
  
After a several minutes passed, I said softly  
  
"I want to go thank Kenshin for letting me stay here."  
  
"And I have to thank him again for saving your life........" Soujiro began and he explained everything that had happened after I "died".  
  
"So we should go thank Kenshin's shishou to..........." I said as I smiled weakly.  
  
  
  
With much effort, I shakily stood up, and fell, like a newborn faun. Putting his arm around my waist, and my arm around his neck, he managed to help me walk to the Kenshingumi, who were eating breakfast.  
  
Yahiko was in the middle of eating an egg when he paused and froze, egg still hanging from his mouth. The others turned around and they reaction imitated Yahiko's.  
  
"Ohayo...." I said weakly and I managed a weak grin......I was too tired to put on my mask at the moment.  
  
"TOKO!!!!" The kenshin gumi all cried out happily as they ran over and celebrated my "ressurection".  
  
~Few weeks later, Narrators view~  
  
After Toko's stomach finally got used to eating "solid food" and her muscles got stronger, Soujiro and Toko were set on wandering again.  
  
"Mou......Why can't you stay?" Kaoru said with a small pout. "Yea.....Toko your food is SO much better than busus......" Yahiko pointed out. "BUSU?!?! YAHIKO!!!!" Growled Kaoru as she chased Yahiko around.  
  
"Well......Soujiro still wants to follow Kenshin's idea and wander a bit more and we have to escape from Saitoh......" Toko said with a sheepish grin.  
  
Suddenly the scent of a cigarette wafted into the room.  
  
"Oi.....chipmunk........so you're finally back.....every time I come by you're always gone......and................" Saitoh left as he spotted Soujiro.  
  
"Tenken. You finally show your face." He said gravely.  
  
Everyone grew quiet, except for Toko, who was grumbling about Saitoh calling her chipmunk.  
  
Soujiro, now smiling again; his mask in place, asked,  
  
"Saitoh-san! Nice to see you again! What can I do for you?" He said cheerfully. "You can go to the police station and be arrested." "What did I do?"  
  
"Murder and massacre in a village.......AND lately I heard that there was also a massacre in a gang headquarters......." Saitoh hinted.  
  
"What if I don't want to go?" Soujiro said. "Then I'll have to take you by force with Gatotsu." Saitoh said amusedly.  
  
Toko stiffened. *Kuso......I forgot about him........Saitoh......Temme.......appearing NOW of all times.........*  
  
  
  
AN: OOOOOIIIIIII Toko is cured! ^_____________________________^ but now Saitoh makes his appearance......I bet yall forgot about him! Well.......I did.....at first.......;; and Im the author too!! ^^;; Anyhoooo so this ficcies ALMOST at an end! Not quite.......but ALMOST........a few more chappies......say.....2? 3? Then OWARI!! *shniffies* btw.......Saitoh is going to make things VERY humorous......so rest assured all you comedy fans!! Lots of "aho" arguing and animal calling ahead!!! But it might be a bit angsty in the beginning.........so these next chappies are for all you angst/comedy fanatics!!!!!!!! ^______________________^  
  
DONT FORGET TO R&R!!!! Review again if you already reviewed......^^;;  
  
But......er......no flames.........._ me is a very sensitive person........... 


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